Redwood Park Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 2,586 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. CGN Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. TI Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective 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. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.6 %

MRK stock opened at $81.82 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.00 and a 12 month 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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.