Waldron Private Wealth LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,800 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,676 shares during the quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 5,612 shares of the company's stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,579 shares of the company's stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,158 shares of the company's stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,811 shares of the company's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 9,235 shares of the company's stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
NYSE:MRK traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $125.74. 7,369,989 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,464,172. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $126.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $318.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 898.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given 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 2,200.00%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business's 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 $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business's 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 $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, 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. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.25.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
(
Free Report)
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.
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