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

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,722 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.9 %

MRK stock opened at $91.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $230.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen lowered shares of 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

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.