Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 31,521 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 101,305 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,521 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Monday, reaching $78.79. 5,503,829 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,507,355. The company has a market capitalization of $199.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.96 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors 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 4.11%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.50.

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.