Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Sells 12,874 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 490,397 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,874 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 3.8% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $53,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 5,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the third quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 289,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,814,000 after acquiring an additional 7,740 shares in the last quarter. High Note Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 26,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. Carlton Hofferkamp & Jenks Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Carlton Hofferkamp & Jenks Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 51,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,275,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.20 on Friday, reaching $130.43. 1,585,031 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,122,697. 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 $330.35 billion, a PE ratio of 144.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $126.54 and a 200 day moving average of $117.50. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.