Court Place Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Court Place Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,631 shares of the company’s stock after selling 298 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.2% of Court Place Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Court Place Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $125.36. 6,122,849 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,346,982. The firm has a market capitalization of $317.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 893.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. 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. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,200.00%.

Insider Activity 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 transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price target (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. 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 research report on Monday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target 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. Finally, TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.