Rothschild Investment LLC Sells 777 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Rothschild Investment LLC reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,884 shares of the company’s stock after selling 777 shares during the quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Holistic Financial Partners increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 4,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 15,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 27,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,704,000 after acquiring an additional 2,741 shares during the last quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 57,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,701,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 261,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,970,000 after acquiring an additional 10,973 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $89.40 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $226.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought 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 $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.