Clearstead Trust LLC Lowers Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Clearstead Trust LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,479 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,160 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 0.9% of Clearstead Trust LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Cross Staff Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 6,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $599,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $127.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,221,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,932,243. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $126.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.75. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $133.10. The company has a market cap of $322.99 billion, a PE ratio of 141.68, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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 under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.