Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.4% of Northern Trust Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,121,395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. StockNews.com cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, 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 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 approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $82.83 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.93 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.03. The company has a market cap of $208.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.