DRW Securities LLC Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

DRW Securities LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 132.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,145 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,502 shares during the quarter. DRW Securities LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.39 on Monday, reaching $78.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,503,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,507,224. The company has a market capitalization of $199.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.28. 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 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MRK. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.50.

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.