Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Malaga Cove Capital LLC

Malaga Cove Capital LLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,646 shares of the company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.0% of Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $127.51. The company had a trading volume of 6,221,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,932,243. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.75. 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 company has a market capitalization of $322.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 141.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company 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.