Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Plimoth Trust Co. LLC

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 48,146 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 511 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.2% of Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $98.73. The stock had a trading volume of 957,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,465,745. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $249.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.13. 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 data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.