Amundi Has $952.14 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Amundi reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 40.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,535,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,533,203 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.38% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $952,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 571,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,931,000 after acquiring an additional 48,368 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $420,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,782,000 after purchasing an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $94.71 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $239.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $94.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.74. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders 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 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

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

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.