Mizuho Bank Ltd. Sells 470 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Mizuho Bank Ltd. lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 46.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 550 shares of the company’s stock after selling 470 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $55,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. CGN Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.48 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm 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. has a 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.