Conquis Financial LLC Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after purchasing an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 43,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,896,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Grove Capital LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 50.8% during the third quarter. Redwood Grove Capital LLC now owns 149,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,001,000 after purchasing an additional 50,410 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,257,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,750,000 after buying an additional 63,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 214,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,345,000 after buying an additional 34,213 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $86.32 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, 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 Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. Leerink Partners lowered their target price 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. Guggenheim cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

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.