Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 51.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,330 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,565 shares during the quarter. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 8,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,008,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,973,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,655,000 after acquiring an additional 150,873 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 43.0% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 145,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,570,000 after acquiring an additional 43,852 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 183,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,883,000 after acquiring an additional 22,204 shares during the period. Finally, Hemenway Trust Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 9,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $98.53 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $97.90 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $110.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.50. The firm has a market cap of $249.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

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.