Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC

Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 74.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,106 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,354 shares during the quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $706,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE MRK opened at $93.44 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month 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 cap of $236.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $93.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. 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. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners cut their price target 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. Guggenheim cut their price target 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, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

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.