Central Bank & Trust Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Central Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 56,040 shares of the company’s stock after selling 425 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $101.87 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.64. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.60 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $258.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.93.

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.