Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI Acquires 11,816 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 170,787 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,816 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.6% of Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $86.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $218.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. 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 fifty day moving average is $98.44 and its 200-day moving average is $106.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.73 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut 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. Bank of America decreased 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, February 5th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.94.

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.