Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC Has $3.77 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,536 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,548 shares during the period. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $126.48 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $320.38 billion, a PE ratio of 898.14, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $126.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.38. 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 fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 2,200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, April 5th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price objective (up from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.25.

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 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.