Richardson Financial Services Inc. Sells 462 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Richardson Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 32.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 969 shares of the company’s stock after selling 462 shares during the quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $95,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $98.80 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $99.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $249.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned 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, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

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.