Callahan Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Callahan Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,449 shares during the quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 103,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,294,000 after buying an additional 28,425 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 6,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 32,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Trust Co. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 7,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $83.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.85. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.09 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. Analysts expect 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 stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup reduced 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 research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.06.

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.