Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Sells 452 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,170 shares of the company’s stock after selling 452 shares during the period. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in 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 during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 target price (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MRK traded up $0.13 on Wednesday, reaching $127.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,105,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,287,475. The stock has a market capitalization of $321.72 billion, a PE ratio of 907.14, a PEG ratio of 1.64 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $126.24 and a 200-day moving average of $115.51.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 EPS for the current year.

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.