Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 315,459 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,284 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $31,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $94.72 on Friday. 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 $239.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $93.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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 reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.