Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC Makes New $1.55 Million Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 13,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,551,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 163.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 292 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,718,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Level Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. Level Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 74.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2 %

MRK stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $101.75. The company had a trading volume of 6,767,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,545,885. The company has a 50 day moving average of $104.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.28. The company has a market capitalization of $257.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.53, a PEG ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 0.37. 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.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $132.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, October 27th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, October 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. TheStreet cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, September 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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 note on Friday, October 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.14.

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