Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV Purchases 1,067 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,560 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.1% of Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Kennedy Investment Group lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $599,000. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.0% in the third quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 57,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,922,000 after acquiring an additional 15,529 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE MRK traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $124.87. 2,239,176 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,264,232. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.76. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10. The firm has a market cap of $316.30 billion, a PE ratio of 891.43, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,200.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 target price (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.