Jmac Enterprises LLC Sells 629 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Jmac Enterprises LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,238 shares of the company’s stock after selling 629 shares during the period. Jmac Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 21,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $944,000. Certuity LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 19,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,000 after buying an additional 4,578 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 62,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,207,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired 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 owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $86.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.73 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’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 company earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, 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 approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.