Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Capital Investment Counsel LLC

Capital Investment Counsel LLC decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 90.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,341 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,309 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,544,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $759,000. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,084,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charter Oak Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC now owns 13,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,991 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $97.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $99.83 and a 200-day moving average of $108.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.