Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Reduced by Skba Capital Management LLC

Skba Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,655 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,900 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 2.6% of Skba Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Skba Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $89.18 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a market capitalization of $225.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $91.92 and a 200 day moving average of $100.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related 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 value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen downgraded 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 Securities downgraded 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

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.