Metis Global Partners LLC Purchases 16,730 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 145,574 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,730 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.6% of Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the 3rd 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. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $127.51. 6,221,928 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,932,243. The company has a market cap of $322.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 141.68, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $126.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.94. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.