One Day In July LLC Sells 1,057 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

One Day In July LLC trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,587 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,057 shares during the period. One Day In July LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 23,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.8% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,384,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,731,000 after purchasing an additional 478,464 shares during the last quarter. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 80,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,992,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $739,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $87.64 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.37. The company has a market capitalization of $221.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

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.