Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 941,273 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59,834 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $102,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $125.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,984,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,315,478. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 891.43, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,200.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 target price (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.25.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value 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 $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.