Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 27.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,301 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,352 shares during the period. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 40,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,465,000 after acquiring an additional 6,423 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 22,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,898 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 99,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,799,000 after purchasing an additional 5,982 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 401,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,746,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Searle & CO. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 57,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,309,000 after purchasing an additional 21,184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3 %

MRK stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.81. 5,895,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,272,977. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $126.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $326.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.