RNC Capital Management LLC Has $2.35 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

RNC Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,515 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,750 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 108.1% during the third quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $131.75 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.39. The stock has a market cap of $333.68 billion, a PE ratio of 941.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 2,200.00%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.