Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Demars Financial Group LLC

Demars Financial Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 72.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,002 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,212 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.8% of Demars Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 68,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,127,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% in the third quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 5,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 107,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,065,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 8,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $850,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 96,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,956,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $127.05. The stock had a trading volume of 3,556,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,248,146. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $126.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.35. The firm has a market cap of $321.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 906.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 price target (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.