FWG Holdings LLC Sells 1,517 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

FWG Holdings LLC lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,989 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,517 shares during the quarter. FWG Holdings LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 11,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the acquisition, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $94.71 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.04 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. The firm has a market cap of $239.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.56.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 48.14%.

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.