Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $562,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.4% of Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.60 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $221.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. TD Cowen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.12.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.