Nwam LLC Purchases 142 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Nwam LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,584 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Nwam LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the third quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.0% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,090,000 after acquiring an additional 5,071 shares during the period. Finally, Fiducient Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the third quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC now owns 3,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE MRK opened at $90.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $229.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $134.63. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $94.75 and its 200 day moving average is $103.59.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

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.