Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. Has $3.40 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,182 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,995 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.0% of Brown Lisle Cummings Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 6,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. Rockline Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,560,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612 shares during the last quarter. Flavin Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $1,660,000. Finally, Compass Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 487,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,481,000 after acquiring an additional 22,838 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, December 20th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $99.79 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $99.83 and its 200-day moving average is $107.54. 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 capitalization of $252.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.