Canton Hathaway LLC Sells 500 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Canton Hathaway LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,898 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Canton Hathaway LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategent Financial LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $358,000. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 387,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,523,000 after acquiring an additional 8,564 shares during the last quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Weinberger Asset Management Inc now owns 8,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $516,000. Finally, Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC now owns 15,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $91.22 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.94. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $230.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price 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 given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

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.