Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by New Millennium Group LLC

New Millennium Group LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 95.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,713 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $45,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $99.83 and its 200 day moving average is $108.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $249.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. 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 results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued 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 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

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.