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

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,833 shares of the company’s stock after selling 243 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 37,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,888,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $131.19. The company had a trading volume of 7,757,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,336,532. 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 stock has a market cap of $332.31 billion, a PE ratio of 937.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $126.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.88. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.