Aigen Investment Management LP Acquires 19,057 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 76.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 43,898 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,057 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 0.8% of Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after buying an additional 4,373 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 166,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,603,000 after acquiring an additional 19,719 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 63,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,181,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 137.5% in the fourth quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 2,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Grove Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 79.9% during the 4th quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC now owns 151,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,072,000 after buying an additional 67,272 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $92.56 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.37 and a 200-day moving average of $103.00. 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 $233.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

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 analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.