Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Triangle Securities Wealth Management

16 Dec 2023, 21:38 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

Triangle Securities Wealth Management cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,954 shares of the company’s stock after selling 793 shares during the quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.1% in the second quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.3% in the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,000 after buying an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the second quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,237,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.5% in the first quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 80,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,550,000 after buying an additional 19,697 shares in the last quarter. 74.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $132.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, October 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. TheStreet raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Monday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 27th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, October 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.14.

Read Our Latest Report on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $105.64 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.36 and a fifty-two week high of $119.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $267.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.69, a PEG ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 18.26% and a net margin of 7.77%. The business had revenue of $16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 162.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 2,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.38, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 111,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,738,572.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 2,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 18,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,394.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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