Sovran Advisors LLC Invests $365,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $365,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $85.71 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.61 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.