Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Cutler Investment Counsel LLC

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,075 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,002 shares during the period. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,388 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610,800 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,463 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $83.01 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.09 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.12.

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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.