Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Checchi Capital Advisers LLC

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,772 shares of the company’s stock after selling 359 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE MRK opened at $91.50 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.78.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.