Ballentine Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ballentine Partners LLC lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,176 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,003 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 9,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 2,243 shares during the period. Cross Staff Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 6,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.8% in the third quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 445,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,615,000 after buying an additional 73,705 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 189.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 61,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,940,000 after acquiring an additional 39,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 63,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,266,000 after buying an additional 6,817 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.5 %

MRK stock opened at $105.88 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $113.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.93. 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. has a 12-month low of $99.80 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $268.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

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.