Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Has $833,000 Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,369 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 560 shares during the quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Stockton increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 6,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 34,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,411,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Capital Corp MA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,561,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $89.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.46 and its 200 day moving average is $104.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $226.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.38. 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 company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.