Princeton Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Princeton Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 32.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,426 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,067 shares during the period. Princeton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Prospect Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $254,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 3,623 shares during the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,116,000. Lynx Investment Advisory lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syntax Research Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 173.6% in the 4th quarter. Syntax Research Inc. now owns 33,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,314,000 after purchasing an additional 21,140 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Securities downgraded 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 reaffirmed 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 decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $92.39 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.78. The stock has a market cap of $233.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.