Marietta Investment Partners LLC Sells 12,559 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 37.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,285 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,559 shares during the period. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $93.44 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.18. The company has a market capitalization of $236.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect 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 program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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 is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Citigroup reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

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.