RBA Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 44,453 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,356 shares during the quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610,800 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $611,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,696,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,296 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
Shares of MRK stock opened at $99.79 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $99.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.54. The stock has a market cap of $252.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Truist Financial restated 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. Citigroup decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.67.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
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.
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