Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is Orca Investment Management LLC’s 7th Largest Position

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 9th, 2023

Orca Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,129 shares of the company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 3.3% of Orca Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Orca Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 41,850,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,643,267,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000,816 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,363,385,000 after purchasing an additional 39,289,404 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,079,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,468,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 72.4% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 11,051,945 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.60% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $109.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $113.23 and a 200 day moving average of $110.86. The firm has a market cap of $276.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 1.90 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. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $14.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.81 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 22.52% and a return on equity of 37.92%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed 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 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $105.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, April 13th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, April 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $128.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, May 1st. Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 28th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, April 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.83.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, VP Rita A. Karachun sold 15,875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,788.75. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 143,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,239,927.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rita A. Karachun sold 15,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,788.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,372,296.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 488,258 shares of company stock valued at $56,481,018. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.