Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Position Reduced by Gagnon Securities LLC

Gagnon Securities LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 236 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $988,000. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. GFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 82,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 70,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on MRK shares. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $98.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $249.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $99.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.