Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,674 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,235 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 2.0% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 108.1% during the third quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $56,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 price target (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Societe Generale lowered 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $131.92. 10,188,693 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,807,398. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $133.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $334.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 942.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $124.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 2,200.00%.

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.