Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Wambolt & Associates LLC

Wambolt & Associates LLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 35.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,367 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,305 shares during the quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $87.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $92.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.