Wealth Architects LLC Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Wealth Architects LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,008 shares of the company’s stock after selling 287 shares during the quarter. Wealth Architects LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 11,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Finally, Schear Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Securities lowered 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of MRK opened at $94.72 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.78. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale 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.