2,056 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC

Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Constitution Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc now owns 13,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after buying an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 57,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,922,000 after buying an additional 15,529 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,818,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 target price (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $127.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $133.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $125.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.65. The company has a market cap of $324.15 billion, a PE ratio of 914.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 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 net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 2,200.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale 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 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.