Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Increased by Eads & Heald Wealth Management

Eads & Heald Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,476 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.92. The stock had a trading volume of 885,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,309,688. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $126.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.96 billion, a PE ratio of 901.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 target price (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.