Planning Directions Inc. Reduces Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Planning Directions Inc. decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,143 shares of the company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Planning Directions Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $125.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,404,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,808,079. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $126.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The stock has a market cap of $318.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 898.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 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. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Berenberg Bank lifted 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. TD Cowen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.25.

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.