Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC.

Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,092 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,496 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.6% of Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0 %

MRK traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $129.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,380,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,227,300. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10. The firm has a market cap of $327.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.54, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, 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 transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $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. 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.