TFG Advisers LLC Sells 294 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

TFG Advisers LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,318 shares of the company’s stock after selling 294 shares during the period. TFG Advisers LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $628,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 12,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 27,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Group Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 23,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,295,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcataur Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $87.26 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.12 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.87. The company has a market cap of $220.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued 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 3.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Wednesday. Bank of America reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.33.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.