MADDEN SECURITIES Corp Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

MADDEN SECURITIES Corp bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 2,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% during the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 349,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,683,000 after purchasing an additional 169,536 shares during the period. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 159,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,064,000 after purchasing an additional 9,376 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,964,000 after purchasing an additional 4,131 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $462,453.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,900 shares in the company, 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 related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,134.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $462,453.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,159,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,245 shares of company stock worth $11,168,256 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $104.10 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.63 and a 1 year high of $115.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $108.19 and its 200-day moving average is $102.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.87 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 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. SVB Leerink upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.35.

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.