Simmons Bank Has $9.79 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Simmons Bank lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 89,776 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,034 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE MRK traded down $0.66 on Wednesday, reaching $129.72. The company had a trading volume of 4,364,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,146,350. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $328.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $126.45 and its 200 day moving average is $117.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were 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 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 link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.