Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,268 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 2.3% of Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,556.0% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 4,041,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,090,000 after buying an additional 595,105 shares during the period. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,161.0% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 75,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,490,000 after buying an additional 72,987 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MRK opened at $89.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $91.92 and its 200 day moving average is $100.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.