One Capital Management LLC Purchases 3,202 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

One Capital Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,556 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,202 shares during the quarter. One Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.7 %

MRK stock opened at $93.22 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $94.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $102.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $235.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.

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