Evercore Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Evercore Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 629 shares during the period. Evercore Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.4 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $87.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.72. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.93 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. 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 released 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target 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. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.13.

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.