Ashburton Jersey Ltd Sells 632 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ashburton Jersey Ltd cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,210 shares of the company’s stock after selling 632 shares during the quarter. Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective 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. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.48 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.05.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 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 usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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.