Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Semus Wealth Partners LLC

Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 36.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,657 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,388 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,231,000 after acquiring an additional 2,610,800 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $611,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,463 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought 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 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $83.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $96.26 and a 200-day moving average of $104.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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 paid 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 3.89%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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.