Foundry Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Foundry Partners LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,025 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,365 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.25.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company'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 value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MRK traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $125.78. The company had a trading volume of 8,404,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,808,079. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.18. 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 $318.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 898.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,200.00%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.

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