Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,024 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,973 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $98.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $250.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $99.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.00. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research began 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, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.