Strategic Financial Services Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Strategic Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,446 shares of the company’s stock after selling 852 shares during the quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $93.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $93.23 and its 200-day moving average is $101.40.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business 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 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

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.