Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Purchases 71,393 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 963.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the 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 SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. apricus wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% in the 4th 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. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th 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 own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price 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. Citigroup restated 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. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $1.42 on Wednesday, hitting $76.17. The stock had a trading volume of 12,268,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,567,464. 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 quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $191.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.09 and a 200-day moving average of $91.05.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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.