Thomasville National Bank Sells 212,208 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Thomasville National Bank lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 73.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,037 shares of the company’s stock after selling 212,208 shares during the quarter. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 376,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,733,000 after buying an additional 49,374 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised 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 acquiring an additional 12,993 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA boosted its stake 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 last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 11,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 23,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $9,431,686.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,555. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,555. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 1,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.10, for a total value of $198,016.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,085 shares in the company, valued at $3,609,573.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 100,245 shares of company stock valued at $11,168,256 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, March 13th. Bank of America raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 3.0 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $104.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $108.19 and its 200-day moving average is $102.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.63 and a fifty-two week high of $115.49.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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.