North Star Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,260 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

North Star Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,334 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,260 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Northwest Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 16,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,775,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 49,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,391,000 after acquiring an additional 13,441 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $797,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,706,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,085,000 after acquiring an additional 62,026 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 515,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,214,000 after purchasing an additional 6,969 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays boosted 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, TD Cowen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.0 %

MRK traded up $1.22 during trading on Monday, reaching $127.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,432,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,226,123. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $126.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The company has a market cap of $321.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 898.43, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,200.00%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.