Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Holdings Increased by Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 9th, 2023

Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,693 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,671.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,099,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,400,000 after purchasing an additional 4,915,334 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 256.3% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 4,882,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,582,000 after buying an additional 3,511,900 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 224,134,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,302,459,000 after buying an additional 3,081,402 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $243,240,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 254.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,647,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901,328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. 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. Credit Suisse Group lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Cowen upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $108.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.35.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $462,453.00. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,134.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 39,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,159,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,245 shares of company stock valued at $11,168,256 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $112.33 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $83.05 and a 52-week high of $115.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $107.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.40. The stock has a market cap of $285.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.83 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.