National Bank of Canada FI Acquires 1,036,091 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 45.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,310,666 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,036,091 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.6% of National Bank of Canada FI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.13% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $374,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Union Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Kure Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $263,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Legacy CG LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy CG LLC now owns 40,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,714 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 6,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.75 on Friday, reaching $127.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,221,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,932,243. The company has a market capitalization of $322.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.75. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

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 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.