Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Qtron Investments LLC

Qtron Investments LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,152 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,189 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.5% of Qtron Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Qtron Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the third quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 16,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,540,000 after buying an additional 14,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $79.14 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $199.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.