Howe & Rusling Inc. Lowers Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Howe & Rusling Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,062 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,045 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 131,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,924,000 after purchasing an additional 56,495 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 385,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,802,000 after purchasing an additional 9,305 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 15,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.2% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 4,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $88.06 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63. 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 firm has a market cap of $222.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $92.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.48.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

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.