Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC

Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,002 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 122 shares during the quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 5,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. King Wealth boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. King Wealth now owns 7,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 7,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $131.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $334.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 942.29, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.52.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 2,200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.71.

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.