Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,320,178 shares of the company’s stock after selling 110,823 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 2.3% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $429,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0 %

MRK opened at $93.19 on Tuesday. 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 $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.15. The firm has a market cap of $235.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 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.