Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,666 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 3.8% of Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,363,385,000 after acquiring an additional 39,289,404 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $2,736,293,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 72.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,314,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,919,542,000 after acquiring an additional 11,051,945 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,671.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,099,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,400,000 after acquiring an additional 4,915,334 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 41,850,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,643,267,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000,816 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.60% of the company’s stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
NYSE MRK opened at $114.60 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $113.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $290.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.52 and a 1 year high of $119.65.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 57.03%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 143,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.93, for a total transaction of $16,472,801.97. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 271,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,239,927.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 143,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.93, for a total transaction of $16,472,801.97. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 271,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,239,927.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 134,055 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $15,425,708.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 488,258 shares of company stock worth $56,481,018. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, April 16th. Citigroup raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.75.
Merck & Co., Inc. Profile
Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.
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