Castle Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Castle Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,677 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 106 shares during the quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennedy Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Schear Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $599,000. Finally, Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% in 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 in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $125.78. The stock had a trading volume of 8,377,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,316,745. The company has a market capitalization of $318.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 898.43, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $126.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion for 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors 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 was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 2,200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.