Skba Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Skba Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 165,655 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,900 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 2.6% of Skba Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Skba Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock worth $24,979,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,474 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company's stock worth $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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 downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $2.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $87.08. The company had a trading volume of 13,919,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,082,008. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $91.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.82. The company has a market cap of $219.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. 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 earnings results 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors 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 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.