Community Bank N.A. Sells 1,605 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Community Bank N.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,608 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,605 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.4% of Community Bank N.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America decreased their price target on 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. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $93.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $236.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $93.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.