Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Buffington Mohr McNeal

Buffington Mohr McNeal raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,746 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.7% of Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kennedy Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $599,000. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.0% in the third quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 57,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,922,000 after purchasing an additional 15,529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $125.47. The company had a trading volume of 2,001,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,327,015. The company has a market capitalization of $317.82 billion, a PE ratio of 901.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $133.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,200.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. TD Cowen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.