Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,415 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,507 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,116,000. Lynx Investment Advisory grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Syntax Research Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 173.6% in the 4th quarter. Syntax Research Inc. now owns 33,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,314,000 after acquiring an additional 21,140 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Finally, Clune & Associates LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $225,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on 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, TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $89.18 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $225.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $91.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.21. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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 purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.