Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Doheny Asset Management CA

Doheny Asset Management CA reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,140 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Doheny Asset Management CA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after buying an additional 2,095,694 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $487,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 12,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $730,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $94.72 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $93.57 and its 200-day moving average is $101.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company 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 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board 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 purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased 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 $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

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.