Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,698 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,866 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the third quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $130.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,974,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,239,971. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.46 and a two-hundred day simple 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 quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $329.57 billion, a P/E 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 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 analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

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.