Merck: Buyback Plan Not As Impressive As It Appears
Summary Merck announces another large stock buyback. Though Merck has a solid net payout yield, the yield doesn't match the highest in the market. The smaller buybacks plan than two years ago along with the higher stock price is a big negative for the stock going forward. Merck (NYSE: MRK ) made headlines this week with the announcement of adding $10 billion to the stock buyback program. The large pharma has a long history of returning cash to shareholders, but the company made a perplexing statement regarding shares outstanding that convolutes the benefits of the buyback. On top of that, the stock has a market value of $163 billion making one wonder if the announced capital return is enough to make the stock interesting after a few years of strong stock gains. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.