Private Wealth Management Group LLC Acquires 435 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,345 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after acquiring an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610,800 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $611,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,696,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.3 %

MRK opened at $89.52 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.33 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $226.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $99.58 and a 200 day moving average of $107.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.