First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown Increases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 35,882 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.8% of First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 32,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5 %

MRK opened at $101.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $256.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.60 and a 52 week 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.80.

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.