First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services Has $5.52 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,640 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the period. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock remained flat at $101.88 during trading hours on Monday. 1,527,161 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,825,273. The stock has a market cap of $258.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.81. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.60 and a 12-month high of $134.63. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS 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 firm 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 business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.