RNC Capital Management LLC Acquires 258,910 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

RNC Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 893.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 287,889 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 258,910 shares during the quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $28,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.6% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 73,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,380,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $108,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 5,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.9 %

MRK stock opened at $87.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.33 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $222.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Leerink Partners cut their target price on 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. Bank of America cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Finally, 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 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

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.