Gilbert & Cook Inc. Sells 155 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Gilbert & Cook Inc. decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,563 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $900,000. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,517,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 3,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Sippican Capital Advisors lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 21,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,131,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 7,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4 %

MRK traded up $0.40 on Thursday, hitting $98.68. The company had a trading volume of 475,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,436,776. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $249.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company 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 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their target price on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

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.