Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

Grandfield & Dodd LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 268,336 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,716 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.6% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $26,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on 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. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $92.23 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $94.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $232.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm 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%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. On average, 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 share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.