First National Advisers LLC Has $2.22 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First National Advisers LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,351 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,802 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $1,393,000. Facet Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. now owns 3,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the period. Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $309,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 19,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gitterman Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $94.72 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.88. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $239.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

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.