Metis Global Partners LLC Has $15.87 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 145,574 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,730 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.6% of Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $258,000. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 2,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. River Global Investors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $3,816,000. Finally, NTV Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $127.51. 6,221,928 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,932,243. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.99 billion, a PE ratio of 141.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently 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.