Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,158 shares of the company’s stock after selling 440 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.6% of Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $75.88 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.13. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.81 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $190.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.