Day & Ennis LLC Acquires 676 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 9th, 2023

Day & Ennis LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,105 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 676 shares during the period. Day & Ennis LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Successful Portfolios LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC now owns 7,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 6,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 20,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $362,000. Finally, PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the insider now owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,555. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,555. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 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 $4,159,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 100,245 shares of company stock worth $11,168,256. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Atlantic Securities lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. SVB Leerink lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4 %

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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $107.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock 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. (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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $13.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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