Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,528 shares of the company’s stock after selling 205 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,363,385,000 after acquiring an additional 39,289,404 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $2,736,293,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,671.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,099,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,400,000 after buying an additional 4,915,334 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 184.5% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,254,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $837,144,000 after buying an additional 4,705,004 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report 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. TD Cowen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 approximately $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $131.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,188,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,807,398. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $334.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 942.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $124.48 and a 200-day moving average of $112.52.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,200.00%.

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.