Voya Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 938,796 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,549 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $93,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’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 $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.5 %

MRK opened at $79.93 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.93 and a one year 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’s fifty day moving average is $87.06 and its 200-day moving average is $95.41. The company has a market capitalization of $201.56 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities lowered 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 report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.13.

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.