Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Lowers Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,972 shares of the company’s stock after selling 603 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 108.1% during the third quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Societe Generale cut shares of 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued 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, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $131.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,189,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,400,490. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $334.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 942.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 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 given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,200.00%.

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

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.