Legal & General Group Plc Has $1.94 Billion Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,484,511 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,069,932 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.5% of Legal & General Group Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.77% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $1,938,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,759,800,000 after buying an additional 1,836,505 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $933,761,000 after purchasing an additional 422,382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $81.48 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.58 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $90.90 and a 200-day moving average of $98.91. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.