Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Peoples Bank OH

Peoples Bank OH lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,809 shares of the company’s stock after selling 615 shares during the quarter. Peoples Bank OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Patron Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 247,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,636,000 after purchasing an additional 22,578 shares in the last quarter. G&S Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,359,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,921,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK traded down $0.85 during trading on Thursday, hitting $105.53. The stock had a trading volume of 3,238,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,766,889. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.92, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $113.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.93. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.80 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed 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 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

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.