Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Trims Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,639 shares of the company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $56,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 target price (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $131.61. 4,548,472 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,711,833. 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 one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $333.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 941.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.