Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Aufman Associates Inc

Aufman Associates Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,604 shares of the company’s stock after selling 464 shares during the period. Aufman Associates Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,979,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,192 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,606,360,000 after buying an additional 1,536,474 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,479,799,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $89.18 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $225.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $91.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim cut their price target 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents 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.

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.