IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Sells 6,338 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,064 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,338 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.6% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $88.06 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $222.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.