WealthShield Partners LLC Sells 6,439 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

WealthShield Partners LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 24.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,231 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,439 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,474 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,296 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,016,374,000 after purchasing an additional 309,656 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 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, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $89.40 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $226.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.10.

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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.