Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 450,606 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,138 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $44,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after buying an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. E&G Advisors LP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McBroom & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. McBroom & Associates LLC now owns 5,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $83.01 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.04 and a 200-day moving average of $105.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.09 and a 12-month high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.06.

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.