Natixis Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Natixis grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 349,625 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 32,845 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $34,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock worth $2,408,763,000 after buying an additional 5,550,824 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,642,000 after acquiring an additional 4,480,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,872,444 shares of the company's stock worth $1,976,911,000 after purchasing an additional 3,823,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $78.94. 8,994,305 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,734,272. 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 $199.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $87.21 and a 200-day moving average of $95.72.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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.