Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Holdings Lessened by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 180,053 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $17,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $494,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $3,898,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 519,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,947,000 after buying an additional 12,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.0% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 32,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $2.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $79.04. The company had a trading volume of 943,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,380,319. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.00 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $199.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. 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. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their price target 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.