Creekmur Asset Management LLC Sells 325 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Creekmur Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 29.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 761 shares of the company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $76,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. CGN Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. TI Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $219.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.62. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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 authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board 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 given 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 yield of 3.72%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.12.

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.