Heck Capital Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 9,933 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 9,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $77.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $194.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $81.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.