Orca Wealth Management LLC Takes $759,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Orca Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 7,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $97.49 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $99.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

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.