Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC Purchases Shares of 3,416 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 9,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $131.36 on Monday. 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 one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.05. The company has a market cap of $332.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.78, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.