Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA

First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 56.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,533 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,566 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,277,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,153,883. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $197.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.93 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

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 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale 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.