180 Wealth Advisors LLC Has $3.30 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 20th, 2023

180 Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,030 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,482 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 0.8% of 180 Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marion Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 21,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after acquiring an additional 3,366 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,944,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $806,000. Alaska Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $228,000. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 181.8% in the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after buying an additional 6,952 shares during the period. 76.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 134,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $15,425,708.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 134,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $15,425,708.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 143,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.93, for a total transaction of $16,472,801.97. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 271,817 shares in the company, valued at $31,239,927.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 488,258 shares of company stock valued at $56,481,018. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $109.32 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $83.39 and a twelve month high of $119.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $113.76 and a 200-day moving average of $110.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 22.52% and a return on equity of 37.92%. The business had revenue of $14.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 57.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, April 10th. BTIG Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 16th. Credit Suisse Group raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $127.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.