DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Sells 32,315 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,368,114 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,315 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.2% of DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $582,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $127.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,673,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,458,428. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.56. The company has a market cap of $324.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 914.21, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. 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, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,200.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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 objective 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, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of 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. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.