Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Has $590,000 Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,409 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $2.81 on Tuesday, reaching $130.38. 6,566,817 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,202,011. The company has a market capitalization of $330.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.87, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. 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 one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $126.45 and a 200 day moving average of $117.33.

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

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s 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. 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.