Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,463 shares of the company’s stock after selling 433 shares during the period. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after buying an additional 2,095,694 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.5% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 371,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,515,000 after buying an additional 49,891 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 24,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,793,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KG&L Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.8% in the third quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 12,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after buying an additional 6,298 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE MRK opened at $93.19 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $235.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value 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. This represents 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 through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.