Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Raised by Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 98.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,558 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,751 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $752,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position 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 period. Cynosure Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.2% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 4,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 104.6% during the third quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 2,834 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 119.8% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 24,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,777,000 after purchasing an additional 13,324 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 962,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,293,000 after buying an additional 61,480 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.6 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.60 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 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 stock 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.