Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Harfst & Associates Inc.

Harfst & Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 34.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,563 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,911 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 24,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,419,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.1% in the third quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 63,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,228,000 after purchasing an additional 10,210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial reissued 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. Bank of America lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $89.39 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $94.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.68. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $226.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.