AJOVista LLC Takes $158,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $127.51. 6,221,928 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,932,243. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.99 billion, a PE ratio of 141.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $126.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. 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.