Bolthouse Investments LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $609,000.
Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company's stock worth $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the company's stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,812 shares of the company's stock worth $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 16,457 shares of the company's stock worth $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.4% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,540,000 after acquiring an additional 14,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
Shares of MRK opened at $82.83 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $87.05 and a 200-day moving average of $95.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $208.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.93 and a 1 year high of $134.63.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.
Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MRK
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile
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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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