JGP Wealth Management LLC Has $627,000 Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 26th, 2023

JGP Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 50.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,896 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,123 shares during the quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 224,134,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,302,459,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081,402 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,339,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,354,384,000 after purchasing an additional 238,356 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 41,850,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,643,267,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000,816 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,363,385,000 after acquiring an additional 39,289,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,079,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,468,037,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077,042 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.60% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $114.60 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $84.52 and a 12-month high of $119.65. The company has a market cap of $290.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.35. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $113.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.64.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 22.52% and a return on equity of 37.92%. The firm had revenue of $14.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 57.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, March 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $128.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, May 1st. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, April 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Atlantic Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.75.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 66,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $7,608,745.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 154,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,766,695. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 66,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $7,608,745.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 154,493 shares in the company, valued at $17,766,695. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 53,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $6,355,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,685 shares in the company, valued at $3,770,831.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 488,258 shares of company stock valued at $56,481,018. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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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.