Certior Financial Group LLC Takes $598,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 6,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $81.48 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.91. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.58 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $205.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial reissued 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. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 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 approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing 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 dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.