Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Increased by Avestar Capital LLC

Avestar Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,621 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $32,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.0 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $85.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.61 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $97.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.65. The firm has a market cap of $216.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.06.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.