N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC Has $504,000 Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,067 shares of the company’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $504,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $988,000. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. GFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 82,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 70,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $99.83 and its 200-day moving average is $108.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

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