Stiles Financial Services Inc Trims Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Stiles Financial Services Inc cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,232 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,882 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,211,000 after buying an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,649,000 after acquiring an additional 62,047 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.12 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $220.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.48.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio 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.