Trilogy Capital Inc. Sells 1,868 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Trilogy Capital Inc. decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,169 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,868 shares during the quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,606,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,474 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after buying an additional 514,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,016,374,000 after buying an additional 309,656 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $87.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.33 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board 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.