Live Oak Private Wealth LLC Sells 265 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,694 shares of the company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the period. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.6% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 73,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,380,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $108,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 5,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced 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. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $87.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $99.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.33 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $222.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

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.