Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 104,204 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,445 shares during the quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Horizons Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $104.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $108.19 and a 200-day moving average of $102.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.63 and a 52 week high of $115.49. The stock has a market cap of $264.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.47% and a net margin of 24.49%. The firm had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.66 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 10th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Atlantic Securities increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $462,453.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,159,575. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $462,453.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,159,575. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $9,431,686.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,555. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,245 shares of company stock worth $11,168,256 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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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.