Abel Hall LLC Sells 242 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Abel Hall LLC cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,014 shares of the company’s stock after selling 242 shares during the quarter. Abel Hall LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.8 %

MRK stock opened at $98.23 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $248.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $99.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.13. 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 results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.67.

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.