Northern Financial Advisors Inc Boosts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,106 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.9% of Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,487,472,000 after buying an additional 5,196,914 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10,221.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,375,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,952,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,256 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $187,042,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,951,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,289,429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,859,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,074,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186,842 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded down $0.60 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $129.78. The stock had a trading volume of 2,064,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,131,551. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $126.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.33. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $328.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $133.10.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related 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 transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.