Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Peterson Wealth Services

Peterson Wealth Services grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 64.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,415 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,232 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kennedy Investment Group lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $599,000. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.0% during the third quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 57,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,922,000 after acquiring an additional 15,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.37 on Thursday, reaching $125.00. 1,065,422 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,247,717. The company has a market capitalization of $316.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 891.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $126.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.76.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 2,200.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.25.

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.