19,528 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Purchased by Sutton Place Investors LLC

Sutton Place Investors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 19,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,129,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.5% of Sutton Place Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,448,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 10,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 3,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 123,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,463,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK traded up $0.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $127.08. 2,406,965 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,406,027. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $133.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $126.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.02. The company has a market capitalization of $321.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 905.36, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,200.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.64.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.