Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Hartford Financial Management Inc.

Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,098 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Creekside Partners acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $254,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 85.9% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,058,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,980,000 after buying an additional 489,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 12,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $98.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $250.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $99.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.