Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,001 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,056 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.2% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CGN Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,683,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note 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 research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing 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 owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $87.08 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one 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 fifty day moving average price of $91.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.62. The stock has a market cap of $219.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.