Berkeley Capital Partners LLC Trims Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Berkeley Capital Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 41.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,446 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,247 shares during the period. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners dropped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $93.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $237.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $93.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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