Semanteon Capital Management LP Takes $1.34 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,336,000.

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $4.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $87.88. The stock had a trading volume of 20,632,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,243,650. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The stock's fifty day moving average is $92.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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.