Abbot Financial Management Inc. Acquires 506 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Abbot Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,008 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.6% of Abbot Financial Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Abbot Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Academy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $253,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $380,000. Cypress Capital Group lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 46,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,654,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,345,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,773,000 after purchasing an additional 371,758 shares during the period. Finally, Ring Mountain Capital LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $260,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of MRK opened at $92.56 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $233.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. 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 has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade 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.

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.