Demars Financial Group LLC Has $1.42 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Demars Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 72.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,002 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,212 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.8% of Demars Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in 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 during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10,221.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,375,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,952,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,256 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $187,042,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,859,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,074,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186,842 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $127.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,556,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,248,146. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $321.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 906.71, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other 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 value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Berenberg Bank raised 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. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.25.

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.