Certuity LLC Increases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Certuity LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,481 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,578 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.1% during the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 7,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,988 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 4,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 353,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,151,000 after purchasing an additional 4,827 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial reissued 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. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.94.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought 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 approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $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 currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $86.52 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $218.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $98.44 and its 200 day moving average is $106.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.73 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

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.