Yoffe Investment Management LLC Invests $887,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Yoffe Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $887,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 518,270 shares during the period. Rench Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 43,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,896,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. Redwood Grove Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 50.8% during the third quarter. Redwood Grove Capital LLC now owns 149,710 shares of the company's stock worth $17,001,000 after buying an additional 50,410 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,257,042 shares of the company's stock worth $142,750,000 after buying an additional 63,061 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.0% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 214,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,345,000 after acquiring an additional 34,213 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $80.85. 9,361,126 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,222,280. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company's 50 day moving average is $90.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.91. The company has a market cap of $204.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.39 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.01%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.12.

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.