Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Nwam LLC

Nwam LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,284 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Nwam LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Cora Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the first quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 32,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,451,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the second quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 9,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.2% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,730,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 2,081 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.38, for a total value of $213,052.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,862,394.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 2,081 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.38, for a total transaction of $213,052.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,394.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total transaction of $4,602,729.69. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 111,764 shares in the company, valued at $11,738,572.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, November 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, October 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

MRK stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $101.68. 838,804 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,438,751. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.36 and a 1-year high of $119.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.66 billion, a PE ratio of 56.31, a P/E/G ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.30 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 18.26% and a net margin of 7.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.