Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Successful Portfolios LLC

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 9th, 2023

Successful Portfolios LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,497 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE MRK opened at $112.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $285.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $83.05 and a 1-year high of $115.49. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.40.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MRK. Bank of America upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 28th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, March 9th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,134.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,555. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,134.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,245 shares of company stock worth $11,168,256. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.