Advanced Asset Management Advisors Inc Has $250,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Advanced Asset Management Advisors Inc trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,292 shares of the company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Advanced Asset Management Advisors Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. VCI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $780,000. Abbrea Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 47,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,177,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 27,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,009,000 after buying an additional 3,944 shares during the last quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 6,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 40,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,419,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the 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 owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $3.71 on Thursday, hitting $130.71. The company had a trading volume of 12,747,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,343,713. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $331.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 928.86, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38. 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 50 day moving average of $126.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.59.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price objective (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Societe Generale lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.25.

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.