Lyell Wealth Management LP Increases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Lyell Wealth Management LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 209.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,398 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,333 shares during the period. Lyell Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. BIP Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 4,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,332,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 187,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,479,000 after purchasing an additional 6,269 shares during the period. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,716,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $3.65 during trading on Thursday, reaching $130.65. The company had a trading volume of 10,117,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,295,696. The company has a fifty day moving average of $126.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.59. 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 $330.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 928.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.