Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,457 shares of the company’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,487,472,000 after purchasing an additional 5,196,914 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,951,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,289,429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,705 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,859,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,074,048,000 after buying an additional 1,186,842 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 12,988,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,416,054,000 after buying an additional 984,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,587,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,241,000 after buying an additional 178,132 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $127.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $321.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 907.21, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $126.26 and its 200 day moving average is $115.59.

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 the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’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 owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.25.

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.