Davis R M Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Davis R M Inc. lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 46.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,345 shares of the company’s stock after selling 146,166 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen cut 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $95.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $93.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $240.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board 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 reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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.