Chelsea Counsel Co. Has $1.95 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Chelsea Counsel Co. reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,420 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,255 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.0% of Chelsea Counsel Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Chelsea Counsel Co.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.8%

MRK traded down $1.42 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,271,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,567,482. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $134.63. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $81.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm 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 firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on 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. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.19.

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.