Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by PBMares Wealth Management LLC

PBMares Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,152 shares of the company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. PBMares Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Five Oceans Advisors raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Sylvest Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $461,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 39,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,943,000 after buying an additional 2,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 186,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of 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, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE MRK opened at $98.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $99.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.