Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Sells 12,874 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 490,397 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,874 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 3.8% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $53,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.20 on Friday, reaching $130.43. 1,585,031 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,122,697. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $133.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $330.35 billion, a PE ratio of 144.92, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $126.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.15%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

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.