Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC Has $4.31 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 78.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,487 shares of the company’s stock after selling 139,661 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.3% of Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 36,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 28,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,090,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 215,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,496,000 after purchasing an additional 12,477 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 147,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,102,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steele Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $295,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.13 on Tuesday, reaching $129.99. 2,358,672 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,245,240. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $126.46 and its 200-day moving average is $116.24. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $329.27 billion, a PE ratio of 144.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The business 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 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank upped their target price 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. Truist Financial increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

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.