Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC Sells 92 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings 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 SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,093 shares of the company’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.2% of Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,363,385,000 after purchasing an additional 39,289,404 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,736,293,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,487,472,000 after buying an additional 5,196,914 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,671.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,099,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,400,000 after buying an additional 4,915,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 184.5% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,254,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $837,144,000 after acquiring an additional 4,705,004 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded up $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $131.92. 10,188,693 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,807,398. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The firm has a market cap of $334.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 942.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 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 approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 price target (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective 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, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.71.

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.