Cwm LLC Acquires 6,969 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

CWM LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 515,632 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,969 shares during the quarter. CWM LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $56,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 346,858 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,814,000 after buying an additional 18,333 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 52,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,760,000 after buying an additional 3,891 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 48,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,238,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $125.78. 8,404,345 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,808,079. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $133.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $126.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.09. 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 capitalization of $318.60 billion, a PE ratio of 898.43, a PEG ratio of 1.62 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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors 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 yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 2,200.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $142.00 target price (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.25.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.