Rossby Financial LCC Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,190,000. Dagco Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Dagco Inc. now owns 23,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,322,000 after buying an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,767,000. Promethos Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Promethos Capital LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $58,143,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $79.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.96 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $88.22 and its 200 day moving average is $97.04.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’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 owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $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 insiders.

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.