Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,109,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 917,806 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,105,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of MRK opened at $89.18 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $91.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.00. The firm has a market cap of $225.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.