Summit Financial LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 34.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,099 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,997 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,346,000 after buying an additional 2,778,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $484,231,000 after buying an additional 2,610,800 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock 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 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $87.40. 4,619,837 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,096,056. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.53. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $220.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.