874 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Purchased by Curio Wealth LLC

Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Swedbank AB increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,095,694 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 11,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schear Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $94.72 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $239.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $93.57 and a 200-day moving average of $101.78.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication 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.