Wright Investors Service Inc. Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 11th, 2023

Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,984 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,825 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.2% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% in the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 349,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,683,000 after purchasing an additional 169,536 shares during the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 159,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,064,000 after buying an additional 9,376 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,964,000 after acquiring an additional 4,131 shares during the last quarter. 72.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded 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 report on Monday, March 13th. Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 28th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Six equities 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.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.35.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $462,453.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,159,575. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,159,575. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,134.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,251 shares of company stock worth $1,736,570. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $112.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $285.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.72. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $83.05 and a twelve month 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.66 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.47% and a net margin of 24.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 (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.

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

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