Nadler Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Nadler Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,779 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. Nadler Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $325,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted 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 valued at $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 516,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,639,000 after purchasing an additional 33,717 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 9,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.67. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $249.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed 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 on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average 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.