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

Accel Wealth Management grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,847 shares of the company’s stock after buying 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 quarter.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $6.23 on Wednesday, reaching $131.75. The company had a trading volume of 15,841,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,783,678. The stock has a market capitalization of $333.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 941.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10. 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 posted its 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 analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 2,200.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now 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 insiders.

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.