GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. Invests $85,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Square LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 11,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8,711.6% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 652,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,884,000 after buying an additional 644,829 shares during the period. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 113,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,306,000 after acquiring an additional 8,661 shares during the last quarter. Advent Capital Management DE grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Advent Capital Management DE now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Finally, MSH Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $644,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. 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, Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the purchase, the director now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $77.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $196.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $87.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.52. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.93 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

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

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.