Legal & General Group Plc Sells 4,069,932 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,484,511 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,069,932 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.5% of Legal & General Group Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,938,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 38,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,341,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Anson Funds Management LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,271,000. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $224,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $81.48 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.58 and a 12 month high of $134.63. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.91. The company has a market cap of $205.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.