Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 58,718 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,429 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.6% of Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Source Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the third quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Round Rock Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $91.50 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.78. 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 company has a market capitalization of $231.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% 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. announced that its board has authorized 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 typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

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.