Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,453,491 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,053 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 2.1% of Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA owned 0.06% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $144,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arcus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $173,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 9,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 1,215 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $1,243,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 70,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,821 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $84.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $213.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $97.82 and its 200 day moving average is $105.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase 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 news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 currently owned by insiders.

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.