Sheets Smith Wealth Management Trims Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,230 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,181 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $127.51. 6,221,928 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,932,243. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company 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 report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

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.