Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Tower Bridge Advisors

Tower Bridge Advisors decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,066 shares of the company’s stock after selling 434 shares during the quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% during the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE MRK opened at $92.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $232.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership 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 given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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.