Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is Stamos Capital Partners L.P.’s 6th Largest Position

Stamos Capital Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 31.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,680 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 29,500 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 2.9% of Stamos Capital Partners L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Stamos Capital Partners L.P.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,269,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 406,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,467,000 after acquiring an additional 21,071 shares during the last quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $1,320,000. Qtron Investments LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Qtron Investments LLC now owns 35,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,497,000 after purchasing an additional 3,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceeto Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC now owns 24,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.1 %

MRK stock opened at $79.14 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.96 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 company has a market cap of $199.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’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 business posted $0.03 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.