Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 776,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,164 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.5% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $77,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 153,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,271,000 after purchasing an additional 17,351 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 5,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,468,000 after buying an additional 3,623 shares during the period. Focused Wealth Management Inc lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockman Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 128,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,735,000 after buying an additional 12,091 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.26 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.12 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.48.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

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

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.