Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 228 shares during the quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $325,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 312,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,657,000 after buying an additional 9,174 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $97.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.34. 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 firm has a market cap of $246.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

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

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.