Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Holdings Decreased by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 19.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 310,052 shares of the company's stock after selling 73,375 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $30,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business's 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This 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.

Remove Ads

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of 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 cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.89 on Monday, hitting $80.59. 10,040,154 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,224,501. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.90 and a 200-day moving average of $98.91. The stock has a market cap of $203.56 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. 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. has a fifty-two week low of $79.39 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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.