Huber Capital Management LLC Acquires 5,000 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Huber Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 32.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,293 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $86.61 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $91.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.53. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $218.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

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

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.