Strong Tower Advisory Services Grows Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,325 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 562 shares during the quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Constitution Capital LLC grew its stake 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 worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.8% during the third quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc now owns 13,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,818,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $131.92. The stock had a trading volume of 10,188,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,807,398. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $124.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.52. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The stock has a market cap of $334.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 942.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,200.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. TD Cowen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, 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. 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.