Catalina Capital Group LLC Buys 678 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,323 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 516,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,639,000 after acquiring an additional 33,717 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 45,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,158,000 after purchasing an additional 6,007 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.80 on Monday. 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. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $99.83 and a 200-day moving average of $107.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire 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 shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MRK shares. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

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.