Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Main Street Financial Solutions LLC

Main Street Financial Solutions LLC trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,535 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,884 shares during the quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in 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 raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,262,000 after buying an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $933,761,000 after purchasing an additional 422,382 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $78.28 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $197.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $88.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.91. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

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). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.