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

Mirova cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 53.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,255 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,732 shares during the period. Mirova's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $78.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,553,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,780,672. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.61. 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 capitalization of $198.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.93 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

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.