Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 18,686 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 209.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,596 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,686 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $302,000. EWG Elevate Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $143,000. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,852,000. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $145,000. Finally, Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,273,000. Institutional investors own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $104.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $264.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $108.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $78.63 and a one year high of $115.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 43.47%. The business had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $462,453.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,159,575. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $462,453.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,159,575. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $9,431,686.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,555. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,245 shares of company stock valued at $11,168,256. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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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.