Advisory Services Network LLC Sells 14,252 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Advisory Services Network LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 114,814 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,252 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 263,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,183,000 after buying an additional 10,244 shares during the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $362,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $169,000. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC now owns 42,730 shares of the company's stock worth $4,251,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abacus FCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 175.9% in the 4th quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 123,803 shares of the company's stock worth $12,316,000 after acquiring an additional 78,938 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.59 on Friday, hitting $79.14. The stock had a trading volume of 16,176,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,512,141. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $88.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.39. The stock has a market cap of $199.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 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.