Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Sells 150,169 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 195,056 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150,169 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $19,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 37,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,239,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the third quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the third quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 85,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,695,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 7,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $87.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $99.01 and its 200 day moving average is $106.87. The stock has a market cap of $220.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.12 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

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). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.