Y.D. More Investments Ltd Sells 157 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Y.D. More Investments Ltd lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,585 shares of the company’s stock after selling 157 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $325,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 516,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,639,000 after buying an additional 33,717 shares during the last quarter. Country Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.7% in the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 1,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 22,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after acquiring an additional 2,741 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $89.52 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.33 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

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.