Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Has $1.11 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 24.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,190 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,010 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.1% of Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,487,472,000 after buying an additional 5,196,914 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10,221.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,375,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,952,000 after buying an additional 2,352,256 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $187,042,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,246,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the third 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. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.93 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $126.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.42. The company has a market cap of $327.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.