BDF Gestion Sells 13,308 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

BDF Gestion reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,478 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,308 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.0% of BDF Gestion's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. BDF Gestion's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company's stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company's stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6 %

MRK stock traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $98.91. 10,158,146 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,963,920. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock's fifty day moving average is $99.86 and its 200-day moving average is $108.06. The company has a market cap of $250.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized 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 reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.