Meritage Portfolio Management Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 52.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,222 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,688 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $90.99 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.33 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $230.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $99.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.12. 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 issued 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders 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 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.20.

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.