Titleist Asset Management LLC Has $418,000 Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Titleist Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,198 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Titleist Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after purchasing an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 38,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,341,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Anson Funds Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,271,000. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 5.7 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.48 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.58 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.91. The company has a market cap of $205.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 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 analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board 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 repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on 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. Finally, Truist Financial restated 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

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.