Kestra Investment Management LLC Sells 2,063 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kestra Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,355 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,063 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 201.3% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 10,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,079 shares during the period. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 176,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,036,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $83.01 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $97.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.06. 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 52-week low of $82.09 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 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 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.