SevenBridge Financial Group LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,528 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,931 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.1% of SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. CGN Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MRK. Guggenheim decreased their price objective 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, 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 for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $219.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $91.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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 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 3.72%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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

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.