Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 4,731,152 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,682,866 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,731,152 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.0% of Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,966,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MRK traded down $0.76 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $129.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,294,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,134,970. The company has a market cap of $328.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $126.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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 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.