MSH Capital Advisors LLC Invests $644,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE MRK opened at $76.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.93 and a one year high of $134.63. The business’s fifty day moving average is $87.81 and its 200-day moving average is $96.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.50.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.