Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Greenleaf Trust

Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,060 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,961,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Schear Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the period. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 17,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,918,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $125.78. The company had a trading volume of 8,377,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,316,745. The company has a market cap of $318.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 894.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $126.17 and its 200-day moving average is $114.84. 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. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,200.00%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price objective (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.25.

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.