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

Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 29.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 445 shares of the company’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $44,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $87.60 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $221.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $92.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

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). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 3.70%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup dropped 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. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

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.