Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 6,644 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 35.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,962 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,644 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $494,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,898,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 519,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,947,000 after acquiring an additional 12,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 32,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,731,000 after buying an additional 2,707 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.6 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $206.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. 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. has a one year low of $76.00 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.12 and a 200 day moving average of $97.90.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 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.