Essex LLC Has $3.97 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Essex LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,370 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,454 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.0% of Essex LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Essex LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during 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 during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $126.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,748,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,367,070. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $126.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.11. The stock has a market cap of $319.57 billion, a PE ratio of 900.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,200.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 target price (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Societe Generale downgraded 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.15.

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

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.