Americana Partners LLC Acquires 196,586 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Americana Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 863.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 219,354 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 14,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $114,000. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 27,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after buying an additional 2,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $3,919,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE MRK opened at $83.01 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.12. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $82.09 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 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 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on 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. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.