Keel Point LLC Has $4.08 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Keel Point LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,379 shares of the company’s stock after selling 361 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MRK traded up $0.53 on Monday, reaching $126.27. 3,868,139 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,383,246. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $319.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 911.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $126.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,200.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. TD Cowen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.