Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Sovereign Financial Group Inc.

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,366 shares of the company’s stock after selling 814 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $2.81 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $130.38. The company had a trading volume of 6,566,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,202,011. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $126.45 and its 200 day moving average is $117.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $330.26 billion, a PE ratio of 144.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped 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. TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.