Ingalls & Snyder LLC Has $31.17 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 16th, 2023

Ingalls & Snyder LLC reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 280,941 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,439 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.7% of Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $31,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 72.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $462,453.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,159,575. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,134.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $462,453.00. Following the sale, 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 a total of 150,306 shares of company stock worth $17,162,278 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $115.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $108.28 and a 200-day moving average of $105.37. The company has a market cap of $292.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 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 one year low of $83.05 and a one year high of $116.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $13.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.66 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 43.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday. Credit Suisse Group increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.65.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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.