Core Wealth Partners LLC Sells 1,559 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Core Wealth Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,468 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,559 shares during the quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 98.5% in the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 7,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $752,000 after buying an additional 3,751 shares during the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 46,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,273 shares during the period. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $359,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $912,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,777,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,847,000 after purchasing an additional 223,517 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $87.88 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $92.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.