Tradewinds LLC. Takes $624,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Tradewinds LLC. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $624,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. UBS Group boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE:MRK opened at $108.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $102.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.14. The company has a market capitalization of $270.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $112.90.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.