Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Latko Wealth Management Ltd.

Latko Wealth Management Ltd. lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,215 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,810 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.6% of Latko Wealth Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Latko Wealth Management Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,649,000 after purchasing an additional 62,047 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.09 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’s 50 day moving average is $97.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. 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 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.06.

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.