Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,599 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.0% of Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $131.95. The company had a trading volume of 10,189,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,400,490. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $133.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $334.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 942.50, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.