Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Increases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 382,323 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,169 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $38,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Source Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,683,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Round Rock Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the third quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $93.19 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.15. 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. has a 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. Analysts predict 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 initiated a stock 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 usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased 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 approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Leerink Partners decreased 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. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

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.