5,293 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Purchased by Tepp RIA LLC

Tepp RIA LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $527,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 0.8% of Tepp RIA LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CGN Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company's stock worth $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 worth $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company's stock worth $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

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Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.05 during trading on Monday, hitting $89.28. The company had a trading volume of 3,755,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,858,282. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.00. 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 fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven 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. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.