Trustmark National Bank Trust Department Sells 3,595 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,722 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,595 shares during the quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company's stock worth $721,782,000 after purchasing an additional 518,270 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the company's stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 16,457 shares of the company's stock worth $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.4% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,540,000 after purchasing an additional 14,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company's 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 purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, 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. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock traded down $0.89 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.28. 16,039,392 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,584,687. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.04. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $134.63. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $197.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The company's 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business 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 was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on 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. TD Cowen downgraded 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.50.

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.