YANKCOM Partnership Takes $1.36 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

YANKCOM Partnership 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 fund purchased 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,359,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of MRK opened at $89.52 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.33 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $226.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $99.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.12. 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 posted 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 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

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.