Apollon Financial LLC Purchases 704 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Apollon Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 34.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,759 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Apollon Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.26 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.87. The firm has a market cap of $220.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.12 and a 1 year 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.33.

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

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. The trade was a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition 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 that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.