Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC Sells 226 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,982 shares of the company’s stock after selling 226 shares during the quarter. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $297,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $86.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $218.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.73 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $98.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.