Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Ridgewood Investments LLC

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 11th, 2023

Ridgewood Investments LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 73.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,474 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,986 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.60% of the company’s stock.

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

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 53,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $6,355,134.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,770,831.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 53,400 shares of the firm’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 owns 31,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,770,831.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 134,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders have sold 488,258 shares of company stock worth $56,481,018 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, April 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $128.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Guggenheim raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. BTIG Research downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 16th. Finally, Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $109.97 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.52 and a 1-year high of $119.65. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $113.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 22.52%. The business had revenue of $14.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 57.03%.

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.