Coastwise Capital Group LLC Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Coastwise Capital Group LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,439 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $99.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $250.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.