South Plains Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,948 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $990,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. TD Securities lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $83.14. 11,754,543 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,050,241. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.93 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.22.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.