Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC Sells 4,815 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 163,350 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,815 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.7% of Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $89,000. Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $887,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,441 shares during the last quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 20,293 shares of the company's stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $80.85. 9,361,126 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,222,280. The stock has a market cap of $204.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The business's fifty day moving average is $90.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.91. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $79.39 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.