Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Lyell Wealth Management LP

Lyell Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 209.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,398 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,333 shares during the period. Lyell Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BIP Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 4,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,332,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 187,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,479,000 after acquiring an additional 6,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,716,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.9 %

NYSE MRK traded up $3.65 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $130.65. 10,117,760 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,295,696. 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 firm has a market cap of $330.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 928.86, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $126.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.59. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One investment 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.