Acropolis Investment Management LLC Has $1.90 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 20th, 2023

Acropolis Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,124 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 376,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,733,000 after acquiring an additional 49,374 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 35,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,034,000 after acquiring an additional 12,993 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 11,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 23,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 72.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $462,453.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,159,575. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,134.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $462,453.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,159,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 100,245 shares of company stock valued at $11,168,256. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of MRK opened at $104.10 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.63 and a 52 week high of $115.49.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Atlantic Securities upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $128.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 20th. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $127.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.35.

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.