Parthenon LLC Has $17.32 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Parthenon LLC trimmed its stake 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 SEC. The firm owned 158,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,596 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 2.4% of Parthenon LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $17,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Bell Bank raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 9,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MRK traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $129.19. The company had a trading volume of 6,944,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,301,608. 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 company has a market capitalization of $327.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 value of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 insiders.

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.