CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,101,308 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 643,991 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.12% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $308,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of MRK traded down $0.67 on Monday, hitting $77.33. 2,711,370 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,691,308. The company has a market capitalization of $195.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.93 and a one year high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.