Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,100,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 122,121 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $805,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 507,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,439,000 after acquiring an additional 11,470 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,110,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,279,000 after purchasing an additional 111,651 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,006.2% during the fourth quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 20,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 18,565 shares in the last quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 213.4% in the fourth quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,857 shares during the period. Finally, Haven Private LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $875,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $94.71 on Friday. 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 $239.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.