Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Courier Capital LLC

Courier Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 72,515 shares of the company’s stock after selling 866 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 108.1% in the third quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report 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. Barclays upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on 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, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $131.75 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $124.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The company has a market capitalization of $333.68 billion, a PE ratio of 941.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37. 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 released its 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 return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,200.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.