Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Lynch Asset Management Inc.

Lynch Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Lynch Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226 shares during the period. McAdam LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 18,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after buying an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 3,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 103,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,973 shares during the period. Finally, Cross Staff Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 7,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $98.80 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $99.83 and its 200-day moving average is $107.67. 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 capitalization of $249.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.