Accel Wealth Management Increases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Accel Wealth Management boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,847 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Accel Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 5,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. King Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. King Wealth now owns 7,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $766,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 7,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded up $6.23 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $131.75. 15,841,390 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,783,678. The company has a market cap of $333.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 941.07, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,200.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.