Ingalls & Snyder LLC Sells 12,001 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 259,578 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,001 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.3% of Ingalls & Snyder LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Ingalls & Snyder LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $28,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% in the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 349,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,683,000 after acquiring an additional 169,536 shares in the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 159,225 shares of the company's stock worth $13,064,000 after purchasing an additional 9,376 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the company's stock worth $2,964,000 after purchasing an additional 4,131 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $142.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $125.74. 7,248,196 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,445,792. 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 firm has a market cap of $318.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 898.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $126.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.24. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,200.00%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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