Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 46.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,176 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,839 shares during the period. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company's stock worth $855,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company's stock worth $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,012 shares of the company's stock worth $1,364,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $2,376,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.12.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MRK
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $4.43 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $87.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,632,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,243,650. The firm has a market cap of $221.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The business's fifty day moving average price is $92.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.
Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.
In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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