First National Trust Co Sells 1,878 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First National Trust Co lowered its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 199,076 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,878 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.9% of First National Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $22,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after acquiring an additional 5,627,923 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $100.76 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.60 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $254.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $110.74 and its 200-day moving average is $119.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

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.