Aspen Investment Management Inc Sells 1,085 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Aspen Investment Management Inc reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,997 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,085 shares during the quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.64 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $95.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.37. 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 capitalization of $221.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 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 the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.