Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Acquires 2,556 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,903 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,556 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 9,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $126.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,725,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,249,497. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $321.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 906.71, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $126.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.25.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.