Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,932 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,632 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.0% of Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Leerink Partners decreased their target price 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. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.97 on Friday. 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. has a 52 week low of $87.33 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $99.31 and a 200-day moving average of $107.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

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

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.