Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Sells 53,718 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 226,506 shares of the company's stock after selling 53,718 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Callan Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 12,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 15,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 4,092 shares during the period. Cypress Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 25,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Element Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Element Wealth LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 14,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $89.40 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $95.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.

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