Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Sells 9,117 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 233,145 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,117 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.4% of Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $25,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MONECO Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 10,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,474,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,401,000 after buying an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 26,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,928,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 448,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,853,000 after buying an additional 12,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $129.19. 6,944,906 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,301,608. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.24.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $2,991,346.35. 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.