AlphaCentric Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

AlphaCentric Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,597 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,403 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.2% of AlphaCentric Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,536,474 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after acquiring an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134,296 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,016,374,000 after acquiring an additional 309,656 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.01 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.09 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $97.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. 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% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.