Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Colonial Trust Advisors

Colonial Trust Advisors decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,186 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. F M Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 28,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,805,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 132.5% during the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 6,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 3,502 shares in the last quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $275,000. Texas Yale Capital Corp. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 40,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,048,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.9% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 2,655,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996,433 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $77.42 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.96 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $195.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.64.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” 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 reduced their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.50.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.