Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Insider Cristal N. Downing Sells 2,361 Shares of Stock

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $87.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.87. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.12 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $220.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRK. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,231,000 after buying an additional 2,610,800 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.