Gray Wealth Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Gray Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,146 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Gray Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Family Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 412,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,977,000 after purchasing an additional 28,406 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 360,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,298,000 after purchasing an additional 45,797 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,922,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,608,000 after purchasing an additional 11,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 19,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price target (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MRK traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $125.23. The company had a trading volume of 5,984,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,315,479. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 891.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $126.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.76. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,200.00%.

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

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.