Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC Sells 3,136 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 43.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,112 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,136 shares during the period. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company's stock worth $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company's stock worth $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 201.3% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 10,596 shares of the company's stock worth $1,203,000 after buying an additional 7,079 shares in the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% in the third quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 47,635 shares of the company's stock worth $5,409,000 after buying an additional 1,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% in the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 61,825 shares of the company's stock worth $7,021,000 after buying an additional 3,671 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of MRK traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $89.40. 15,641,321 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,774,290. The stock has a market cap of $226.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's 50-day moving average is $95.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

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

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.