Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Perennial Investment Advisors LLC

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,550 shares of the company’s stock after selling 613 shares during the quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after buying an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $933,761,000 after purchasing an additional 422,382 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim reduced 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 research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 5.7 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $81.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $205.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.05. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its 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 return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.