Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Gradient Investments LLC

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 19th, 2023

Gradient Investments LLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,562 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,540 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 224,134,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,302,459,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081,402 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,079,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,468,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077,042 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,949,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,730,513,000 after purchasing an additional 214,082 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 53.8% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,349,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,037,608,000 after purchasing an additional 7,816,470 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,026,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,552,347,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111,477 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of MRK opened at $104.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.63 and a twelve month high of $115.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.66 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.47% and a net margin of 24.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $127.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $128.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.35.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,134.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,134.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $9,431,686.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,312,555. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 100,245 shares of company stock worth $11,168,256. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

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