Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $149.75 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,505,318 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,461 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.06% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $149,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.12.

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Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $93.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $236.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The stock's 50-day moving average is $93.75 and its 200-day moving average is $102.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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