Dodge & Cox Reduces Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Dodge & Cox decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 157,351 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Dodge & Cox’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,262,000 after buying an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $933,761,000 after acquiring an additional 422,382 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE MRK opened at $78.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $197.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.91. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $134.63.

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). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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.