Diversified Enterprises LLC Acquires 567 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Diversified Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,724 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,639,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,069,000 after acquiring an additional 407,368 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 22,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 9,315 shares during the period. Van Strum & Towne Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 8,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Montis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,532,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,474,000 after purchasing an additional 154,510 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $94.72 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $93.57 and a 200-day moving average of $101.99. The firm has a market cap of $239.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

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.