3,589 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Purchased by Intellus Advisors LLC

Intellus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CGN Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,683,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $93.44 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.00 and a 200-day moving average of $101.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $236.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.