Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Acquires 7,014 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 48.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,499 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,014 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.1% of Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted 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. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $127.56. 6,551,711 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,219,841. 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. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The company has a market capitalization of $323.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 141.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $126.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.13.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. 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. Finally, Societe Generale lowered shares of 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.