Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Cutler Capital Management LLC

Cutler Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,025 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,476 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.0% of Cutler Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Cutler Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DRW Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 132.5% in the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 6,145 shares of the company's stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 3,502 shares during the period. ELCO Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $275,000. Texas Yale Capital Corp. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 40,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,048,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.9% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 2,655,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,996,433 shares during the period. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 263,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,183,000 after acquiring an additional 10,244 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.59 on Friday, reaching $79.14. 16,176,635 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,528,710. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.96 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. 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 of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, 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 bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.50.

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.