LSV Asset Management Sells 267,130 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

LSV Asset Management lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,747,990 shares of the company's stock after selling 267,130 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.3% of LSV Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.23% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $571,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on 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. 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.50.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents 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. Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $79.01. 6,444,662 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,511,185. The company's 50-day moving average is $88.43 and its 200-day moving average is $97.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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 issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.