Bfsg LLC Has $3.32 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bfsg LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 580 shares during the quarter. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 buying an additional 5,196,914 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10,221.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,375,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,952,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,256 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $187,042,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,951,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,289,429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,859,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,074,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186,842 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE MRK traded up $2.13 on Thursday, reaching $129.13. The company had a trading volume of 5,177,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,243,899. The stock has a market capitalization of $327.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 907.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $126.26 and its 200 day moving average is $115.59. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-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.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TD Cowen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price target (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.25.

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.