Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC

Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 62.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,108 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,355 shares during the quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Ellis Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 26,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. TigerOak Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $343,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 144,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,408,000 after purchasing an additional 9,767 shares in the last quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $963,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut 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 research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.06.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $83.01 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $97.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.12. 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. has a one year low of $82.09 and a one year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.