Geode Capital Management LLC Has $6.07 Billion Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,181,863 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,026,859 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.5% of Geode Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,072,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 115.3% during the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 20,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 11,246 shares in the last quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.8% during the third quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 50,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,791,000 after purchasing an additional 9,130 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,260.6% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 381,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,356,000 after purchasing an additional 353,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 118,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,401,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, 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 this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $89.74 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63.

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 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders 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 3.61%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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

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.