NEOS Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,337 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,899 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Moment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $268,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,071,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,053,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,840,000 after acquiring an additional 344,457 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,199,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,353,000 after acquiring an additional 377,436 shares during the period. Finally, Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $521,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $88.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $222.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $92.35 and a 200-day moving average of $100.48. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed 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. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.