KG&L Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

KG&L Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,553 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,390 shares during the period. KG&L Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Dohj LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $794,000. Marietta Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,867,000 after buying an additional 2,306 shares in the last quarter. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 1,348 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 27,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after buying an additional 3,909 shares during the period. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 199,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,823,000 after acquiring an additional 14,282 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.80 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. 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 market capitalization of $249.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $99.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.