Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 262,611 shares of the company’s stock after selling 92,374 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.0% of Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $26,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.9% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 2,655,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,112,000 after buying an additional 1,996,433 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 263,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,183,000 after purchasing an additional 10,244 shares during the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $362,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Finally, Sandhill Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC now owns 42,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,251,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE MRK opened at $78.77 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.86 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 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 reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Citigroup decreased 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. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price 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, TD Securities 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.50.

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.