Stone Summit Wealth LLC Sells 10,949 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Stone Summit Wealth LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 36.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,934 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,949 shares during the quarter. Stone Summit Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focused Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 128,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,735,000 after purchasing an additional 12,091 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 40,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,052,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Northeast Investment Management boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 64,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,422,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 4,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $87.26 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $98.72 and its 200 day moving average is $106.48. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.12 and a 52 week 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. The company has a market cap of $220.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.