Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,088 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.2% of Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NTV Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $129.58 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $126.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.33. The company has a market cap of $328.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.