Wellington Management Group LLP Grows Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.5% of Wellington Management Group LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 3.20% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $8,032,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 115.3% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 20,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 11,246 shares in the last quarter. Encompass More Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $279,000. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 37,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,282,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $1,147,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $89.18 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $225.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Citigroup dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.