South Dakota Investment Council Has $27.48 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

South Dakota Investment Council increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 252,032 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,794 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.6% of South Dakota Investment Council’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $27,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK remained flat at $126.94 during mid-day trading on Tuesday. 7,743,486 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,302,824. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $321.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 906.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.51. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10.

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

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.