Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC

Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 132 shares during the quarter. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 376,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,733,000 after purchasing an additional 49,374 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 35,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,034,000 after purchasing an additional 12,993 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 11,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 23,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. 72.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total transaction of $9,431,686.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,555. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total transaction of $9,431,686.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,555. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,134.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,245 shares of company stock worth $11,168,256 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $104.10 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.63 and a 1-year high of $115.49. The company has a market capitalization of $264.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $108.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.66 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.47% and a net margin of 24.49%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 51.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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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.