Empire Financial Management Company LLC Sells 5,000 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Empire Financial Management Company LLC decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,933 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company's stock worth $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $933,761,000 after purchasing an additional 422,382 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRK. StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America decreased 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.13.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. This 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 acquired 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $83.34. The stock had a trading volume of 6,849,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,889,680. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.93 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $210.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $87.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire 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.

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.