Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Guardian Investment Management

Guardian Investment Management decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.6% of Guardian Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4 %

MRK stock traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $124.90. 2,698,193 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,270,226. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10. The company has a market cap of $316.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 891.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $126.20 and its 200-day moving average is $114.76.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,200.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.25.

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.