Hudock Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hudock Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,002 shares of the company’s stock after selling 521 shares during the quarter. Hudock Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Howard Bailey Securities LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 2,006 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,601,000 after buying an additional 8,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $85.71 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $98.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. 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 one year low of $85.61 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.06.

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.