5,368 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Bought by Lakeshore Capital Group Inc.

Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,368 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $534,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE MRK traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, hitting $77.50. 11,867,802 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,568,652. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $194.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company's 50-day moving average price is $81.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 47.16%.

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

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.