Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Invests $2.13 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in 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 (SEC). The fund bought 21,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,130,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.2% of Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. TI Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company's stock worth $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company's stock worth $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,050 shares of the company's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 14,805 shares of the company's stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $1.42 on Wednesday, hitting $76.17. 12,271,678 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,567,486. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $81.09 and its 200 day moving average is $91.05. The company has a market capitalization of $191.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.