Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC Sells 3,136 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,136 shares during the quarter. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Lyell Wealth Management LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 6,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Network Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $348,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 46,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,542 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plan Group Financial LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 2,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This 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 available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on 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. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $96.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.62. The firm has a market cap of $210.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

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.