Chartwell Investment Partners LLC Has $27.72 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 26th, 2023

Chartwell Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 260,542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,996 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.1% of Chartwell Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $27,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% during the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 349,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,683,000 after buying an additional 169,536 shares during the period. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 159,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,064,000 after buying an additional 9,376 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,964,000 after buying an additional 4,131 shares during the period. 76.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $128.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.75.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 53,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total value of $6,355,134.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,770,831.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, VP Rita A. Karachun sold 15,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.53, for a total value of $1,865,788.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,372,296.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 53,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total value of $6,355,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,685 shares in the company, valued at $3,770,831.85. 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.

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 stock has a market cap of $290.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $113.61 and its 200-day moving average is $110.64.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 22.52%. The company had revenue of $14.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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.