Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Sells 4,343 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 59.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,948 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,343 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $28,000. Level Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.5% during the second quarter. Level Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.0% in the first quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 74.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 111,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,738,572.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total transaction of $4,602,729.69. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 111,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,738,572.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 2,081 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.38, for a total transaction of $213,052.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,862,394.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $102.68 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.36 and a 1 year high of $119.65. The company has a market capitalization of $260.19 billion, a PE ratio of 57.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $103.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.30 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 18.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $132.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, October 27th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, September 1st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $122.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, October 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.14.

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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.