Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC Sells 158 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,351 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 198,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,777,000 after purchasing an additional 11,819 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. CA lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 176.7% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. CA now owns 2,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 1,686 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 16,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,598,000 after buying an additional 3,982 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 7,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 4,199 shares during the period. Finally, Prospect Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $254,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, 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 transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $92.39 on Tuesday. 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 1 year low of $81.04 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $233.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $92.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.78.

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

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. 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 presently 48.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.