Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 26th, 2023

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,704 shares of the company’s stock after selling 109 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% in the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 349,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,683,000 after purchasing an additional 169,536 shares during the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 worth $13,064,000 after purchasing 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. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,964,000 after purchasing an additional 4,131 shares during the last quarter. 76.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 143,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.93, for a total value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 143,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 271,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,239,927.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 66,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $17,766,695. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 488,258 shares of company stock worth $56,481,018. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Atlantic Securities raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $114.60 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.52 and a 52 week high of $119.65. 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 company has a market capitalization 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $113.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.64.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $14.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.81 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 22.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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.