Ashburton Jersey Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ashburton Jersey Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,210 shares of the company’s stock after selling 632 shares during the quarter. Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. UBS Group cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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 research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $81.48 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $90.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.05. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $205.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.