Todd Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Todd Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 29.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,765 shares of the company’s stock after selling 88,022 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $21,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategent Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $358,000. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 387,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,523,000 after acquiring an additional 8,564 shares during the period. Weinberger Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc now owns 8,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $516,000. Finally, Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC now owns 15,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business’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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $91.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $230.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. 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’s 50 day moving average is $95.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.94. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm 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 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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.