Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Has $1.75 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,017 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 556 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 valued at $8,487,472,000 after acquiring an additional 5,196,914 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in 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. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,859,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,074,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186,842 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 12,988,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,416,054,000 after purchasing an additional 984,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,587,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,241,000 after purchasing an additional 178,132 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.93 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $129.19. 6,944,906 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,301,608. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $126.46 and its 200 day moving average is $116.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. 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. Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.