Personal CFO Solutions LLC Has $5.40 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Personal CFO Solutions LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,228 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,953 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.1% of Personal CFO Solutions LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Personal CFO Solutions LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 61,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,091,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 24,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,466,000 after purchasing an additional 3,009 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $532,000. Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 73,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,309,000 after purchasing an additional 18,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 10,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 3,643 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $94.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $239.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.65. 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 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 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.