West Paces Advisors Inc. Sells 92 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

West Paces Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,311 shares of the company’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 0.6% of West Paces Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of MRK stock traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $125.06. 5,585,633 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,377,089. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $126.28 and a 200 day moving average of $114.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10. The firm has a market cap of $316.78 billion, a PE ratio of 898.50, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 2,200.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, March 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.