Key Financial Inc Has $2.47 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Financial Inc cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,798 shares of the company’s stock after selling 879 shares during the quarter. Key Financial Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,119,000 after buying an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,879,000 after buying an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 201.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 10,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 176,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,036,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.01 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $209.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $82.09 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 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 given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.