Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Sells 1,166,230 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 56.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 905,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,166,230 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $98,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,218,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 9,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 51,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,360,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 49,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 24,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 2,927 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.9 %

MRK stock traded up $3.71 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $130.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,747,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,343,713. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.59. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $331.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 928.86, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

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.