Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 58,082 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,020,503 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 58,082 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $101,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Tradewinds LLC. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Round Rock Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 11,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $94.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.56. 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 released 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). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors 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 yield of 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by company insiders.

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.