Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Holdings Raised by Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR

Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 70.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,541 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,776 shares during the quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $130.23. 9,105,032 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,179,641. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.88, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. 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 twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $126.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.