Montis Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 2,078 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Montis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRKFree Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,532,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,474,000 after acquiring an additional 154,510 shares during the last quarter. Zevin Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Zevin Asset Management LLC now owns 7,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 126,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,581,000 after purchasing an additional 18,584 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 316,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,480,000 after buying an additional 6,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 208,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,763,000 after buying an additional 9,640 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased 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 approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $94.72 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.99. The firm has a market cap of $239.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRKGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

View Our Latest Report on Merck & Co., Inc.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

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