Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH Increases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,654 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.0% of Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,487,472,000 after purchasing an additional 5,196,914 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,951,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,289,429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,705 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 12,988,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,416,054,000 after acquiring an additional 984,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,587,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,241,000 after purchasing an additional 178,132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 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 accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $131.20. The company had a trading volume of 7,758,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,512,518. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $133.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $126.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.88. The firm has a market cap of $332.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.38. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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.