Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Geneva Partners LLC

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 2nd, 2023

Geneva Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 946.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 53,360 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,259 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 5.6% of Geneva Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Geneva Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 224,134,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,302,459,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081,402 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,079,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,468,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077,042 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.2% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,026,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,552,347,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,477 shares during the period. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 12,162,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,461,000 after buying an additional 265,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,760,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $800,866,000 after buying an additional 1,441,584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $108.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $127.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $106.39 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $80.74 and a one year high of $115.49. The company has a market cap of $270.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $107.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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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.