Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Buys 1,388 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,905 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.0 %

MRK stock opened at $89.40 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $226.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.46 and a 200-day moving average of $104.16.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.39.

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.