Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Has $3.25 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,786 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,649 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% during the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 349,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,683,000 after buying an additional 169,536 shares during the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 159,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,064,000 after buying an additional 9,376 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,964,000 after acquiring an additional 4,131 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.40 on Tuesday, hitting $125.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,135,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,341,180. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.53. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10. The company has a market capitalization of $318.63 billion, a PE ratio of 898.50, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 2,200.00%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 target price (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. TD Cowen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.25.

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.