MADDEN SECURITIES Corp Purchases New Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

MADDEN SECURITIES Corp purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 376,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,733,000 after purchasing an additional 49,374 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 35,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,034,000 after purchasing an additional 12,993 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 11,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 23,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of MRK opened at $104.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.63 and a twelve month high of $115.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,134.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total transaction of $9,431,686.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,312,555. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,134.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 100,245 shares of company stock worth $11,168,256. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. SVB Leerink upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Atlantic Securities upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.35.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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.