Financial Advisors LLC Invests $211,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stonebrook Private Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,747,000. Opinicus Capital Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,021,000. Lathrop Investment Management Corp increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Lathrop Investment Management Corp now owns 6,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $655,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 42,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 134,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,400 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value 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 approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related 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 sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MRK traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $131.20. 7,758,230 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,512,518. The stock has a market cap of $332.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $126.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.96. 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. 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 data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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 research report on Friday. Finally, TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.