Cheviot Value Management LLC Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cheviot Value Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,006 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,750 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 2.3% of Cheviot Value Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Cheviot Value Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CGN Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,683,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. TI Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.5 %

MRK stock opened at $79.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $201.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.41. 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. has a twelve month low of $75.93 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.