Genesis Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 3,697 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Genesis Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 69,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,424 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,427,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,942,000 after purchasing an additional 171,638 shares during the period. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 22,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

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

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $89.40 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $95.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.10. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. 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) 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.