Tower Bridge Advisors Decreases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 10th, 2023

Tower Bridge Advisors reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,456 shares of the company’s stock after selling 217 shares during the quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $127.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Atlantic Securities increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.35.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the company’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 value of $462,453.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,159,575. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $4,159,575. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,251 shares of company stock worth $1,736,570. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $112.33 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $107.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $285.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.34. 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. has a 12 month low of $83.05 and a 12 month high of $115.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $13.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

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