Lindbrook Capital LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Lindbrook Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 38.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,126 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,272 shares during the quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Source Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Tradewinds LLC. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Round Rock Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRK. Leerink Partners cut 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MRK opened at $93.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.94. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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 3.48%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

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.