Hedeker Wealth LLC Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hedeker Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,229 shares of the company’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 2.1% of Hedeker Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Hedeker Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the third 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 stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $50,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.33 on Friday, hitting $127.99. The stock had a trading volume of 5,673,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,458,428. 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 one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The stock has a market cap of $324.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 914.21, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.56.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 target price (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.71.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.