Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC Sells 200 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,862 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. TD Cowen cut 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $92.23 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. 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 announced its 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.