Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 258 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $2.81 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $130.38. 6,566,817 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,202,011. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $330.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $126.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.33.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Societe Generale downgraded shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.33.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is 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.