MML Investors Services LLC Has $49.08 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

MML Investors Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 493,383 shares of the company's stock after selling 62,961 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $49,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company's stock worth $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the company's stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,812 shares of the company's stock worth $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 16,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,540,000 after acquiring an additional 14,780 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Truist Financial reiterated 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. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of MRK traded down $0.24 on Wednesday, reaching $78.73. 17,929,792 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,783,784. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $87.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.72. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.93 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.