Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,004,275 shares of the company’s stock after selling 80,586 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $218,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,487,472,000 after purchasing an additional 5,196,914 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,951,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,289,429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,705 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,859,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,074,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186,842 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 12,988,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,416,054,000 after acquiring an additional 984,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,587,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,241,000 after acquiring an additional 178,132 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $131.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,758,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,512,518. The stock has a market cap of $332.33 billion, a PE ratio of 145.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38. 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 fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $133.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $126.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.