Fiduciary Trust Co Sells 13,344 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fiduciary Trust Co cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 415,899 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,344 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $41,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $77.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.52. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.93 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $194.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on 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 Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.13.

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.