LM Advisors LLC Purchases 7,795 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

LM Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 63.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,046 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,795 shares during the period. LM Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $77.50. The company had a trading volume of 11,867,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,568,652. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year 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 firm has a market cap 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 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

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.