Northstar Group Inc. Has $2.30 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Northstar Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,070 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Northstar Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Arcataur Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 12,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 6,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $692,000. Finally, Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 161,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $87.26 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.01 and a 200-day moving average of $106.87. 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 company has a market capitalization of $220.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.12 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.