Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Trajan Wealth LLC

Trajan Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 46,869 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,784 shares during the period. Trajan Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 781,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,741,000 after buying an additional 6,832 shares in the last quarter. Natixis increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 349,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,781,000 after acquiring an additional 32,845 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 121,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,078,000 after acquiring an additional 7,566 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 119.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,473,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,012,000 after purchasing an additional 2,431,430 shares during the period. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 212,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,094,000 after purchasing an additional 14,562 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $77.93 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.93 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company’s 50 day moving average is $87.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.16. The company has a market cap of $196.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.