Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 2,504 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $68,000. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.0% in the third quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 10,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the third quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 7,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $85.55 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.98 and its 200-day moving average is $104.49. The stock has a market cap of $216.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.