Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Treasurer of the State of North Carolina

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,225,418 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,811 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.5% of Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $121,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 3.6 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.82 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $206.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.00 and a one year high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $89.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.90.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reissued 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.50.

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.