Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Sells 3,781 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 698,965 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,781 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.0% of Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $69,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 2,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 221,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,103,000 after purchasing an additional 99,236 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 217,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,656,000 after purchasing an additional 27,461 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 181,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 5.7 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.48 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $205.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $90.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.05.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. 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 business earned $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 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.