Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Americana Partners LLC

Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 863.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 219,354 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 196,586 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $21,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $83.01 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.09 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $97.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.12. The company has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction 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 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.06.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.