B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Has $11.53 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 114,933 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,564 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, reaching $77.50. 11,867,802 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,568,652. The firm's 50 day moving average is $81.43 and its 200-day moving average is $91.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $194.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.