Partners Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 4,205 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Partners Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Source Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the third quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,683,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Round Rock Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 103 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 analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised 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 issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.0 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $89.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.10. The firm has a market cap of $226.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.