Simplicity Wealth LLC Sells 25,062 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Simplicity Wealth LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 89.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,059 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,062 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 51,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,172,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 20,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,064,000 after buying an additional 2,352 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $398,000. Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,229,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 7,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MRK opened at $95.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $240.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $93.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 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 directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target 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 lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

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.