Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 2,515 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,880 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,515 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. CGN Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. TI Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 19,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.12.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This trade represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $87.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $92.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.