Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 147,695 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.7% of Ledyard National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the 3rd 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. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.8 %

MRK stock traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $130.10. The stock had a trading volume of 6,829,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,318,161. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $126.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $329.55 billion, a PE ratio of 144.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $133.10.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.