133,882 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Purchased by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 133,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,319,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.5% of New Age Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,388 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $87.60 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $92.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in 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 an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

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.