Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160,955 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,338 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.2% of Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clune & Associates LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $274,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,979,041,000 after buying an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $93.44 on Monday. 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 fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $93.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.97. The firm has a market cap of $236.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.