Scotia Capital Inc. Sells 232 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Scotia Capital Inc. lowered its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 316,551 shares of the company’s stock after selling 232 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $31,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CGN Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners cut 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 report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.82 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.00 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.90. The stock has a market cap of $206.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate 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.