AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $785,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.2% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 4,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 104.6% in the third quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the company's stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 2,834 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 119.8% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 24,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,777,000 after acquiring an additional 13,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 962,421 shares of the company's stock worth $109,293,000 after buying an additional 61,480 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $89.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,837,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,023,401. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $225.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $91.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.00.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lowered 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. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.12.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business'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 value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now 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. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.