30,055 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by Strategic Financial Concepts LLC

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 30,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,990,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leo Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 143.3% in the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 27,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,742,000 after buying an additional 16,236 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 4,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 23,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares during the period. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 3,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group decreased 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. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $87.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $98.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.48. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.12 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 period last year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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

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.