Ally Financial Inc. Acquires 32,000 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ally Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 49.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 97,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,000 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.2% of Ally Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Ally Financial Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,817,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,552 shares in the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Capital Square LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 11,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8,711.6% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 652,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,884,000 after buying an additional 644,829 shares during the period. Finally, Greenwood Gearhart Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 113,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,306,000 after acquiring an additional 8,661 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $76.42 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.93 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $193.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.81 and a 200-day moving average of $96.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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.