River Global Investors LLP Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

River Global Investors LLP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 35,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,816,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NTV Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after buying an additional 8,267 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 13,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,479,000 after buying an additional 2,258 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 189,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,700,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,310,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036,091 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6 %

MRK traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $127.51. The stock had a trading volume of 6,221,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,932,243. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The company has a market capitalization of $322.99 billion, a PE ratio of 141.68, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.