McAdam LLC Acquires 713 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

McAdam LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,664 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the period. McAdam LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $98.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $99.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.67. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-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 firm has a market capitalization of $249.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.