Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Trek Financial LLC

Trek Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 106.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,328 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,401 shares during the period. Trek Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,979,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,192 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,072,582,000 after buying an additional 2,026,859 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,479,799,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim cut their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on 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. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed 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 equities research 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. 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. Trading Down 5.7 %

Shares of MRK opened at $81.48 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $90.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.91. 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 capitalization of $205.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.58 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, 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. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.