Ballew Advisors Inc Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ballew Advisors Inc decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,021 shares of the company’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Ballew Advisors Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 108.1% in the third quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK traded up $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $131.92. 10,188,693 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,807,398. The company has a 50 day moving average of $124.48 and a 200-day moving average 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 capitalization of $334.11 billion, a PE ratio of 942.29, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 2,200.00%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.