Regal Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Regal Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,569 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,306 shares during the quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.50.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

MRK opened at $78.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $88.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.91.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.