Bfsg LLC Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bfsg LLC lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 580 shares during the quarter. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. TheStreet cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Societe Generale cut 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:MRK traded up $2.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $129.13. 5,177,227 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,243,899. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $126.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.59. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The company has a market capitalization of $327.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 907.21, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.