Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 137 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,279 shares of the company’s stock after selling 137 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 5,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,321,000. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,150,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 27,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Finally, Centric Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 21,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MRK traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $129.48. 6,658,813 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,184,872. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $327.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.87, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $126.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.33. 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 data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 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 business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Wednesday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.