Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC Sells 3,017 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 22.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,234 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,017 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.2% of Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kennedy Investment Group increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $599,000. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.0% during the third quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 57,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,922,000 after acquiring an additional 15,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 target price (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE MRK traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $124.85. 2,503,434 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,267,888. The company’s 50-day moving average is $126.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.76. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $316.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 891.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.