Trust Point Inc. Sells 6,656 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Trust Point Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,973 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,656 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $99.79 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $99.83 and a 200 day moving average of $107.54. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $252.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G 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.

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 issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.67.

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.