7,315 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Bought by Riverbend Wealth Management LLC

Riverbend Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 7,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $729,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $95.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $240.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.