Citizens National Bank Trust Department Cuts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Citizens National Bank Trust Department reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,543 shares of the company’s stock after selling 735 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.0% of Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after buying an additional 1,836,505 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,211,000 after acquiring an additional 8,985 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $2,080,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $85.55 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $216.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.