Schnieders Capital Management LLC Sells 4,394 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Schnieders Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 33,691 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,394 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,487,472,000 after acquiring an additional 5,196,914 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10,221.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,375,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,952,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,256 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $187,042,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,951,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,289,429,000 after buying an additional 1,246,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,859,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,074,048,000 after buying an additional 1,186,842 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays raised their target price 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. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. 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 assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock remained flat at $126.94 on Tuesday. 7,743,486 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,302,824. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $126.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $321.54 billion, a PE ratio of 906.71, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.