Enhancing Capital LLC Takes $2.20 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Enhancing Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 22,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,000. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.7% of Enhancing Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 603,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,046,000 after purchasing an additional 18,457 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,390,000. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 18,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 4,303 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 30,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,073,000 after purchasing an additional 2,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 15,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,357 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $94.84 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $93.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.62. The stock has a market cap of $239.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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 is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

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.