Heck Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 9,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $988,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Bank of America dropped 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. TD Cowen cut shares of 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 research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, reaching $77.50. 11,867,802 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,568,652. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $194.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.43 and a 200-day moving average of $91.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.