Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Cut by DGS Capital Management LLC

DGS Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,903 shares of the company’s stock after selling 573 shares during the quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 93,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,193,000 after buying an additional 6,045 shares in the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 11,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. First American Trust FSB lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 3,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the period. Eads & Heald Wealth Management lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 4,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 305,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,261,000 after purchasing an additional 16,930 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,688,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,322,817. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.43 billion, a PE ratio of 901.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $126.28 and its 200-day moving average is $114.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Societe Generale downgraded 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen upgraded 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. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight 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 target price of $131.25.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 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.