Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,164 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,225 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 46,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,273 shares in the last quarter. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $359,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $912,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,777,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,847,000 after buying an additional 223,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Florida Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $87.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $92.60 and a 200 day moving average of $100.57. 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 company has a market capitalization of $221.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased 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. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.