Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,715 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the period. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares during the period. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the third quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 37,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,239,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the period. Sendero Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the third quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the third quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 85,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,695,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 7,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $87.26 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $99.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.87. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.12 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 1.20 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.