Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Position Reduced by Boston Partners

Boston Partners cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 36.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 776,793 shares of the company’s stock after selling 436,367 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $77,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% in the third quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 5,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 651.8% in the third quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 12,781 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $93.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $93.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

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.