Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,693 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,131 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $86.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $218.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $98.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.73 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.