Peoples Bank OH Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Peoples Bank OH reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,094 shares during the period. Peoples Bank OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,075,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 30,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 8,734 shares during the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 10,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Harvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $662,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $87.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50-day moving average is $95.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 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 earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.81 dividend. 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 3.70%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.