Cross Staff Investments Inc Acquires 225 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cross Staff Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,710 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after buying an additional 7,224 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.0% during the third quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 2,045 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 13,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 69,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,176,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 15,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 934 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $131.41. 4,759,161 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,295,760. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 937.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $126.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

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 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 approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.