Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by CreativeOne Wealth LLC

CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 28.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,336 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,886 shares during the quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CGN Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company's stock worth $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company's stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.50.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, 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 value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.1 %

MRK traded down $0.89 on Tuesday, hitting $78.28. The company had a trading volume of 16,039,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,584,687. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.91. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.