Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Holdings Lessened by O Brien Greene & Co. Inc

O Brien Greene & Co. Inc decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,661 shares of the company’s stock after selling 334 shares during the quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $464,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 80,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,992,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674 shares in the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $739,000. Meitav Investment House Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12,641.0% in the fourth quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 397,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,515,000 after buying an additional 394,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LMG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE MRK opened at $85.55 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63. 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 company has a market capitalization of $216.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.98 and a 200 day moving average of $104.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners dropped 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. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

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.