Sepio Capital LP Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sepio Capital LP cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,569 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,008 shares during the quarter. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after buying an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $933,761,000 after acquiring an additional 422,382 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 5.7 %

MRK stock opened at $81.48 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $90.90 and its 200 day moving average is $99.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $205.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.