Scott & Selber Inc. Has $4.33 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Scott & Selber Inc. lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,553 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,265 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.3% of Scott & Selber Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 748.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,149,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,388 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,231,000 after buying an additional 2,610,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,924,000 after buying an additional 2,194,463 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $93.19 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $235.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.51 and a 200-day moving average of $103.15. 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 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm 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 business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.