Citizens National Bank Trust Department Has $5.37 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Citizens National Bank Trust Department cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,278 shares of the company’s stock after selling 337 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.1% of Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $101.88 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.29 and a 200 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 market cap of $258.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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. 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.