Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 35,685 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 581,389 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,685 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $57,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. CGN Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company's stock worth $2,683,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Leerink Partners reduced 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $4.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $87.88. 20,632,114 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,254,244. The company's 50 day moving average price is $92.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.57. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.