Bridges Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,125 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,189 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,125 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 52,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,939,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 5,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Americana Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 22,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $92.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $94.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. 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 approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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.