Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Acquires 1,024,371 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 463.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,245,425 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,024,371 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $123,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.7 %

MRK traded up $2.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.83. The stock had a trading volume of 28,374,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,908,288. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $208.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's 50 day moving average is $87.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.13. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.93 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.