Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Cardinal Capital Management

Cardinal Capital Management trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 72,618 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,682 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.1% of Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Davidson Trust Co. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 7,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,000 after buying an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. GAM Holding AG lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 117,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,693,000 after purchasing an additional 8,446 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 3,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 566,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,309,000 after buying an additional 6,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $82.09 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $97.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.06. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim decreased their target price 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, February 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.06.

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.