Everence Capital Management Inc. Buys 20,700 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 30.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,091 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,700 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.7% of Everence Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 76,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,367,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. Marietta Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 53,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,843,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Suncoast Equity Management raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 165,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,042,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 93,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,193,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MRK traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $125.47. 3,264,648 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,342,972. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $126.28 and its 200-day moving average is $114.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 898.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,200.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. TD Cowen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has 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 price target of $131.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.