Sunpointe LLC Sells 1,314 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sunpointe LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,314 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LMG Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,297,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $502,000. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 195,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,404,000 after acquiring an additional 53,967 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 329,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,746,000 after acquiring an additional 38,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Financial Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 3,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE MRK opened at $85.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $216.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.98 and its 200-day moving average is $104.49. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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 3.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

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.