Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,576 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 28,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,090,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 215,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,496,000 after buying an additional 12,477 shares in the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 147,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,102,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $295,000. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 35,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,830,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $130.10. 2,106,055 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,241,083. The company has a 50 day moving average of $126.46 and a 200 day moving average of $116.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $329.55 billion, a PE ratio of 144.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $133.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of 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. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average 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.