Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Fiduciary Group LLC

Fiduciary Group LLC lowered its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,783 shares of the company’s stock after selling 806 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 5,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 651.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,674,000 after buying an additional 12,781 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $93.98 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $237.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.40. 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 issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business’s 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Citigroup reduced their price target on 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. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

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.