Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Cut by Smithfield Trust Co

Smithfield Trust Co trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 22.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 90,986 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,791 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 63,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,181,000 after buying an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 137.5% during the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 2,952 shares of the company's stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 79.9% during the 4th quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC now owns 151,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,072,000 after acquiring an additional 67,272 shares during the period. Abbot Financial Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Abbot Financial Management Inc. now owns 32,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,184,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Academy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $253,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE MRK traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $93.22. 13,113,648 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,975,985. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The business's 50 day moving average is $94.25 and its 200-day moving average is $102.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors 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 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.39.

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.