Trek Financial LLC Purchases 8,401 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Trek Financial LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 106.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,328 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,401 shares during the quarter. Trek Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospector Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 178,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,741,000 after purchasing an additional 15,490 shares during the period. Garrison Point Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 199.6% in the 4th quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 18,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,850,000 after buying an additional 12,393 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,967 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 18,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 2,178 shares during the period. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 3,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 5.7 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $81.48 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.58 and a 52-week 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $90.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.91. The stock has a market cap of $205.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen cut 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners dropped 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

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.