Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Has $5.15 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,389 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,199 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,973,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,655,000 after purchasing an additional 150,873 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 43.0% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 145,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,570,000 after purchasing an additional 43,852 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 183,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,883,000 after acquiring an additional 22,204 shares during the period. Hemenway Trust Co LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 7,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE MRK opened at $98.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $249.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $110.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.50. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.50 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America cut 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.