Dover Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Dover Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,991 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,181 shares during the period. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Securities 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 note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.0 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $89.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $226.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.