Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC Sells 283 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,921 shares of the company’s stock after selling 283 shares during the period. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $325,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 516,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,639,000 after purchasing an additional 33,717 shares during the last quarter. Country Trust Bank increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.7% in the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 1,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 22,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after buying an additional 2,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $89.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.58 and a 200-day moving average of $107.12. 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. has a 1 year low of $87.33 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

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

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.