Auxano Advisors LLC Sells 449 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Auxano Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,648 shares of the company’s stock after selling 449 shares during the period. Auxano Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,487,472,000 after acquiring an additional 5,196,914 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10,221.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,375,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,952,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,256 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $187,042,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,951,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,289,429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,859,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,074,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186,842 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.90 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $129.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,798,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,299,421. The company has a 50-day moving average of $126.46 and a 200-day moving average of $116.24. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $327.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.33.

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.