Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,080,661 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 310,850 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $305,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rahlfs Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $530,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Hemenway Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 9,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $987,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 67,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Finally, Sit Investment Associates Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 110,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,972,000 after buying an additional 12,798 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $81.48 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

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.