Tcfg Wealth Management LLC Has $1.11 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Tcfg Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,140 shares of the company’s stock after selling 256 shares during the period. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,119,000 after buying an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 23,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after buying an additional 4,258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $83.01 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.19. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $209.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $82.09 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on 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. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.06.

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.