GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. Sells 1,944 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 163,175 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,944 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226 shares during the period. McAdam LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 18,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the period. Jacobsen Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 3,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 103,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares during the period. Finally, Cross Staff Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 7,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $98.80 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.67. 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 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Barclays cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

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.