3,547 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by Three Seasons Wealth LLC

Three Seasons Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company's stock worth $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the company's stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,812 shares of the company's stock worth $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the third quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 16,457 shares of the company's stock worth $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.4% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,540,000 after purchasing an additional 14,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 3.7 %

MRK stock traded up $2.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $82.83. 28,374,477 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,908,288. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.93 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.13.

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

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $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. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.