Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC Sells 1,263 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,122 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,263 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Bank of America cut their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $102.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $260.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.03. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.60 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for 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 37.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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.