Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Makes New $7.42 Million Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 74,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,423,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 48,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,790,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,660,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $762,082,000 after acquiring an additional 130,541 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 18,878 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,762 shares of the company's stock worth $1,568,000 after purchasing an additional 3,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,823 shares of the company's stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $98.99. 3,383,524 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,584,535. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $250.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors 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 yield of 3.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 67.92%.

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.