Financial Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $131.20. 7,758,230 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,512,518. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $126.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.96. The stock has a market cap of $332.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MRK shares. TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Societe Generale cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

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