Main Street Financial Solutions LLC Sells 15,487 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 11th, 2023

Main Street Financial Solutions LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 54.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,183 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,487 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.7% of Main Street Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $30,000. 72.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE MRK opened at $112.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $285.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $83.05 and a 12 month high of $115.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $107.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.14%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 1,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.10, for a total transaction of $198,016.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,609,573.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 1,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.10, for a total transaction of $198,016.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,085 shares in the company, valued at $3,609,573.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 16,251 shares of company stock valued at $1,736,570 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 19th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, March 9th. Cowen increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $108.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, March 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.35.

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.