Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 145,312 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,039 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company's stock worth $1,759,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company's stock worth $189,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $933,761,000 after purchasing an additional 422,382 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Guggenheim cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.50.
View Our Latest Analysis on MRK
Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.
In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
Shares of MRK traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $79.01. The stock had a trading volume of 6,444,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,511,185. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company's fifty day moving average is $88.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.
Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
(
Free Report)
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.
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