Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,955 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,338 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.2% of Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CGN Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. TI Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,973,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company's stock worth $3,978,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock worth $2,137,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target 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, February 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $4.43 on Tuesday, reaching $87.88. 20,632,114 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,254,244. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $92.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 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 quarterly 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 analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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. Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.