Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Purchases 12,477 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 215,521 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,477 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.6% of Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the company's stock worth $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,579 shares of the company's stock worth $1,807,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,158 shares of the company's stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 9,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. TD Cowen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target 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. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $1.10 during trading on Monday, reaching $130.10. 6,829,150 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,318,161. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38. The business's fifty day moving average is $126.46 and its 200-day moving average is $116.24.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

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.

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