Smithfield Trust Co Cuts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Smithfield Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,986 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,791 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $92.56 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $94.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $233.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid 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 3.50%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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.