Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Increases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 242.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 37,238 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,350 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during 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 worth $2,016,374,000 after buying an additional 309,656 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $98.80 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 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 $249.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $99.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

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.