Planned Solutions Inc. Acquires Shares of 4,097 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 5,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. King Wealth boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. King Wealth now owns 7,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $766,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 7,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $131.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $333.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 941.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 2,200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.50.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.