Optimum Investment Advisors Has $512,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Optimum Investment Advisors reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $269,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $114,909,000. AXQ Capital LP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 11,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,107,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 17,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,724,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,760,000 after buying an additional 5,480 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $93.44 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $236.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $93.00 and its 200-day moving average is $101.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

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.