Vivid Wealth Management LLC Acquires 200 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Vivid Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,137 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Vivid Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $83.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $209.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.09 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.19.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. TD Securities downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.06.

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.