Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 963.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,800 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 71,393 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. apricus wealth LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 22,023 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,191,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 21,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,155,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $75.95. The company had a trading volume of 4,637,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,546,053. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $80.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.95. The stock has a market cap of $190.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America decreased 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.19.

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.