Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,272,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.3% of Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV now owns 34,895 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,804,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 4,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 15,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,728,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the period. One Wealth Management Investment & Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $255,000. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $142.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays increased 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 note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $1.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $126.59. The company had a trading volume of 6,282,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,592,293. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $126.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10. The company has a market capitalization of $320.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 904.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,200.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.