Summit Global Investments Acquires 38,497 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 205,106 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,497 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.5% of Summit Global Investments’ holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $22,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 43,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,704,000 after purchasing an additional 3,823 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 376,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,024,000 after acquiring an additional 92,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 1,207,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,588,000 after acquiring an additional 30,481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $128.37. 3,723,924 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,217,800. The company has a market capitalization of $325.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.22, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $126.51 and its 200 day moving average is $116.50. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.