264,734 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd

BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 264,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,100,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.0% of BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $87.97 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.33 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.00. 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 $222.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.