Summit Financial LLC Acquires 25,997 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Summit Financial LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 34.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 102,099 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,997 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $721,782,000 after purchasing an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 115.3% in the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 20,996 shares of the company's stock worth $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 11,246 shares during the last quarter. Encompass More Asset Management acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $279,000. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 37,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,282,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $1,147,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, 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 transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired 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 owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $2.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $87.08. 13,919,428 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,104,738. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $91.75 and a 200-day moving average of $99.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $219.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.