Bravias Capital Group LLC Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bravias Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the third quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the third quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Round Rock Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the third quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $92.23 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $94.63 and its 200-day moving average is $103.29. 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 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $232.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

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.