Citizens National Bank Trust Department Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Citizens National Bank Trust Department cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 46,543 shares of the company’s stock after selling 735 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.0% of Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Boston Financial Mangement LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 80,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,992,000 after buying an additional 2,674 shares in the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $739,000. Meitav Investment House Ltd. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12,641.0% during the fourth quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 397,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,515,000 after purchasing an additional 394,273 shares during the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corps Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $502,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $85.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.49. 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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

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.