Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 221,837 shares of the company’s stock after selling 73,252 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $22,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Securities downgraded shares of 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $92.23 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 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. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.