Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Reduces Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,406 shares of the company’s stock after selling 578 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $87.26 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $87.12 and a one year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $220.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.