Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. Acquires 2,007 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,973 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,007 shares during the quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Tradewinds LLC. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,683,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Round Rock Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $90.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.59. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. The trade was a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.