Carret Asset Management LLC Sells 727 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Carret Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,128 shares of the company’s stock after selling 727 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.1% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $127.01. 7,105,057 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,287,475. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The company has a market cap of $321.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 907.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $126.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.51.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. TD Cowen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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 boosted their price objective 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, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.