Madison Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 27,684 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 27,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,754,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,759,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836,505 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,649,000 after acquiring an additional 62,047 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $94.72 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $93.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.04 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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.