Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA

Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 251,349 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,364 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.0% of Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $27,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $131.84. The stock had a trading volume of 4,076,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,289,740. The company has a market cap of $333.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 937.57, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $126.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.