Compass Capital Management Inc. Acquires 22,838 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Compass Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 487,347 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,838 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 3.2% of Compass Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Compass Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $48,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after purchasing an additional 35,525 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,649,000 after acquiring an additional 62,047 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $99.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.54.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

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.