IMA Wealth Inc. Has $2.87 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

IMA Wealth Inc. lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,364 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,569 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.4% of IMA Wealth Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. IMA Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK traded up $0.48 on Friday, hitting $131.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,758,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,512,518. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.88. The firm has a market cap of $332.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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. 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 for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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 research note on Monday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays increased 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 report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued 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, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.