Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Has $7.84 Million Position 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 the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,800 shares of the company's stock after acquiring 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 SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the period. apricus wealth LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 22,023 shares of the company's stock worth $2,191,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,933 shares of the company's stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 21,658 shares of the company's stock worth $2,155,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen lowered 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 report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MRK traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,867,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,568,652. The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.43 and a 200 day moving average of $91.15. The company 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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 the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.18%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board 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.