Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 377 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $91.22 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $95.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.94. 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 company has a market cap of $230.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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.