Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,280 shares of the company’s stock after selling 295 shares during the quarter. Swisher Financial Concepts Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,564,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,639,000 after purchasing an additional 327,426 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,554,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,529,000 after purchasing an additional 144,961 shares during the period. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% during the third quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 13,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamilton Capital LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% during the third quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 4,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on 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. Eleven investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.11 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.66. 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 $204.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.30 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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.