Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ Acquires 780 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,323 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.3% of Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,363,385,000 after purchasing an additional 39,289,404 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,736,293,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of 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 period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,671.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,099,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,400,000 after purchasing an additional 4,915,334 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 184.5% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,254,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $837,144,000 after purchasing an additional 4,705,004 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK traded down $0.30 during trading on Thursday, reaching $125.07. 1,652,051 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,255,935. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $133.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $126.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.76. The company has a market capitalization of $316.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 891.43, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 2,200.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.25.

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.