Cromwell Holdings LLC Has $612,000 Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cromwell Holdings LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,102 shares of the company’s stock after selling 885 shares during the quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $87.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $221.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.71 and its 200 day moving average is $104.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of 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 reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

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.