Stonebrook Private Inc. Invests $3.75 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Stonebrook Private Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 34,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,747,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.3% of Stonebrook Private Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Opinicus Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,021,000. Lathrop Investment Management Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Lathrop Investment Management Corp now owns 6,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 42,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,671,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 134,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,620,000 after buying an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 22,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $131.20. The stock had a trading volume of 7,758,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,512,518. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $126.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.96. 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 quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $332.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the sale, 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. Corporate 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.