TFC Financial Management Inc. Has $3.91 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

TFC Financial Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,338 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,617 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.6% of TFC Financial Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. TFC Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 4,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the third quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 7,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,525,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’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 directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $85.71 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $98.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.61 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $216.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate 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 plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Bank of America dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.06.

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.