Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,320,658 shares of the company's stock after selling 535,988 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned 0.09% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $230,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Monday, reaching $82.85. 8,686,234 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,036,792. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.93 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $208.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company's 50-day moving average is $86.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.13.

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.