Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Has $10.93 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 640.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,717 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 86,247 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 2.3% of Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. First National Corp MA ADV boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 12,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,367,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $447,000. Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 106,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,591,000 after purchasing an additional 5,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 4.6 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $5.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $131.30. 8,213,133 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,647,058. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 938.00, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,200.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.