Centerpoint Advisory Group Purchases Shares of 2,812 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Centerpoint Advisory Group acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,606,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,474 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after buying an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,016,374,000 after buying an additional 309,656 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $83.01 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $209.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $97.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.09 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note 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 for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents 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.

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.