Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by WealthPLAN Partners LLC

WealthPLAN Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,114 shares of the company’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.06.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $83.01 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $209.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.09 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $97.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.