Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Holdings Boosted by Imprint Wealth LLC

Imprint Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,754 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.0% of Imprint Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Imprint Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 5,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 9,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3 %

MRK stock traded down $0.38 on Tuesday, reaching $125.81. 1,479,411 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,318,902. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.53. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The company has a market cap of $318.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 901.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 2,200.00%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays raised their price target 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. UBS Group raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.