Almanack Investment Partners LLC. Has $322,000 Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Almanack Investment Partners LLC. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,241 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 12,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 27,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 23,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcataur Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE MRK opened at $87.26 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $99.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.87. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.12 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.