Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Has $5.28 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,464 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 58,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,388,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $158,000. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 144,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,706,000 after buying an additional 45,138 shares during the last quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 5,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VeraBank N.A. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 12,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $127.51. 6,221,928 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,932,243. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its 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 return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

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.