Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Providence Capital Advisors LLC

Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 625.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,247 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 64,878 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.5% of Providence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Providence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $89.22. 3,301,735 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,848,619. 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 market cap of $225.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $91.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 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.