Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC Sells 20,354 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 74.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,106 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,354 shares during the quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 239,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,851,000 after acquiring an additional 75,383 shares during the period. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 101.3% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,687 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 2,359 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,046,000. Finally, Sciencast Management LP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 664.0% during the fourth quarter. Sciencast Management LP now owns 31,583 shares of the company's stock worth $3,142,000 after purchasing an additional 27,449 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim dropped 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 3.9 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $3.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $88.74. The stock had a trading volume of 5,678,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,243,650. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $92.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.78. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. 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 capitalization of $224.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm'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 approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents 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. 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.