JB Capital LLC Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

JB Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,895 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,555 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.6% of JB Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. JB Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $325,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 516,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,639,000 after buying an additional 33,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 45,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,158,000 after acquiring an additional 6,007 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MRK opened at $98.80 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $99.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced 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 report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

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.