Planned Solutions Inc. Invests $447,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 108.1% in the third quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $56,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $131.75 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $124.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.39. The company has a market capitalization of $333.68 billion, a PE ratio of 941.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 2,200.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.50.

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.