Blue Trust Inc. Buys 14,664 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,339 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,664 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP now owns 280,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Campbell Wealth Management boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.8% in the 4th quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 2,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $288,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 52,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,272,000 after buying an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Merchants Corp increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 10,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after buying an additional 988 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $83.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $97.44 and its 200-day moving average is $105.50. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.09 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten 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, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 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, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was 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. 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.