107,136 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Bought by SVB Wealth LLC

SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 107,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,658,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,474 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 3rd 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. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after buying an additional 5,550,824 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8 %

MRK stock opened at $92.23 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $232.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $94.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.44. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.