Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 406 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,760 shares of the company’s stock after selling 406 shares during the period. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $277,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,468,000 after acquiring an additional 3,623 shares in the last quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 128,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,735,000 after purchasing an additional 12,091 shares in the last quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 40,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,052,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Investment Management raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 64,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,422,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $87.26 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.12 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $98.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.48. The company has a market capitalization of $220.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

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.