Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Richwood Investment Advisors LLC

Richwood Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 299 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.4% of Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $93.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.12.

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.