J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Acquires 8,241 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,505 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,241 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,363,385,000 after acquiring an additional 39,289,404 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $2,736,293,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,487,472,000 after acquiring an additional 5,196,914 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,671.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,099,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $418,400,000 after acquiring an additional 4,915,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 184.5% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,254,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $837,144,000 after acquiring an additional 4,705,004 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Societe Generale lowered 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 research note on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $142.00 target price (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MRK traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $125.78. 8,377,080 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,316,745. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $133.10. 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 company has a market capitalization of $318.60 billion, a PE ratio of 898.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $126.18 and a 200 day moving average of $115.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.