Midwest Capital Advisors LLC Invests $26,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,095,694 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 69,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,424 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,427,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $612,942,000 after purchasing an additional 171,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the third quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 22,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $89.40 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.46 and its 200-day moving average is $104.10. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $226.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MRK shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of 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. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

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.