Nelson Capital Management LLC Sells 30,402 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Nelson Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 84.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,724 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,402 shares during the period. Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $91.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.78. The company has a market capitalization of $231.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

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). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.54%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

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.