3,547 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by Three Seasons Wealth LLC

Three Seasons Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $721,782,000 after buying an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,812 shares of the company's stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the third quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 16,457 shares of the company's stock worth $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.4% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 111,057 shares of the company's stock worth $12,540,000 after acquiring an additional 14,780 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin bought 2,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $84.82. The company had a trading volume of 6,842,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,898,404. The stock has a market cap of $213.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.93 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $87.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The business's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.