Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 37.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,832 shares during the quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $86.52 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.73 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $98.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.06. The stock has a market cap of $218.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

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.