TAP Consulting LLC Takes $225,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

TAP Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,487,472,000 after acquiring an additional 5,196,914 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10,221.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,375,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,952,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,256 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $187,042,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,951,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,289,429,000 after buying an additional 1,246,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,859,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,074,048,000 after buying an additional 1,186,842 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $131.19. 7,757,292 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,336,532. The company’s 50-day moving average is $126.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $332.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 937.57, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

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 transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following 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 accessible through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, 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 value of $124,890.00. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Societe Generale cut 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, 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. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

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.