First Financial Bankshares Inc Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First Financial Bankshares Inc raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 844,385 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,996 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.8% of First Financial Bankshares Inc's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. First Financial Bankshares Inc's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $83,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after buying an additional 1,536,474 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,125,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,002,052,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE MRK traded down $1.29 on Friday, reaching $93.44. The company had a trading volume of 68,284,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,227,995. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company's fifty day moving average is $93.00 and its 200 day moving average is $101.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given 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 yield of 3.47%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value 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. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Eleven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.