Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 3rd, 2023

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,940 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 76.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, March 13th. BTIG Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 16th. Atlantic Securities boosted their target price 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $115.39 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $84.52 and a 12-month high of $119.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $113.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $292.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 134,055 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $15,425,708.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, VP Rita A. Karachun sold 15,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,372,296.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 134,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 488,258 shares of company stock valued at $56,481,018. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

(Free Report)

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.