Saturna Capital Corp Has $94.06 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Saturna Capital Corp reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 945,482 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,718 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.3% of Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $94,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after buying an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 3,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $487,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 329.4% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,000 after purchasing an additional 10,482 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $94.65 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $93.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MRK shares. Leerink Partners dropped 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.