WealthPLAN Partners LLC Sells 167 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,114 shares of the company’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,346,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,388 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,231,000 after acquiring an additional 2,610,800 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $611,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,463 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $83.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. 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 price is $97.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.50. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.09 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 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 revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This 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 insiders.

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.