Topsail Wealth Management LLC Takes $213,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Topsail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This trade represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $82.83 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $87.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.23. 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 stock has a market cap of $208.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.93 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

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.