Leavell Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,645 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,745 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 44,517 shares of the company's stock worth $4,429,000 after purchasing an additional 10,573 shares in the last quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 170,787 shares of the company's stock worth $16,990,000 after acquiring an additional 11,816 shares during the last quarter. New Republic Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 46,662 shares of the company's stock worth $4,642,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 3,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7 %
MRK stock traded down $1.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $83.01. 26,768,428 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,162,434. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a PEG 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.09 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.19.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Guggenheim dropped 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. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.06.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Profile
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Free Report)
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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