Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,437 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,392 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $692,000. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 161,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,737,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $150,000. Finally, BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $87.97 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.33 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $99.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.87. The firm has a market cap of $222.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

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.