Curi RMB Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 212,044 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,562 shares during the quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $21,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.9 %

MRK stock opened at $77.93 on Friday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.93 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $196.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.50.

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.