Strata Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Strata Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,262,000 after buying an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,211,000 after buying an additional 8,985 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after buying an additional 514,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $2,080,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.25 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. 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 firm has a market cap of $210.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $96.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.62.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.