Kempner Capital Management Inc. Invests $2.98 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kempner Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 29,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,981,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company's stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,552,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.15 on Friday, reaching $98.80. The stock had a trading volume of 11,417,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,987,177. The stock has a market cap of $249.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

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

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.