Mcdonald Partners LLC Sells 1,486 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Mcdonald Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,386 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,486 shares during the period. Mcdonald Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Shayne & Jacobs LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the third quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 8,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Source Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the third quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.06.

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

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $83.01 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.09 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.85. The company has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company 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 yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.