Woodstock Corp Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Woodstock Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 129,205 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.9% of Woodstock Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Woodstock Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $104.10 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $78.63 and a one year high of $115.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.66 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 43.47%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $462,453.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,159,575. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $462,453.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,159,575. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,134.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,245 shares of company stock worth $11,168,256. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 20th. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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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.