Prentice Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,222 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 362 shares during the quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 8,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Source Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the third quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, 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 transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin acquired 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.0 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $89.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given 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 yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.39.

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.