Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,839 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,930 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.2% of Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 183,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,883,000 after acquiring an additional 22,204 shares during the period. Hemenway Trust Co LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the third quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 9,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.5% during the third quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 7,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Winslow Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the third quarter. Winslow Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,361,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 256.4% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of MRK traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $99.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,295,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,834,670. The business has a fifty day moving average of $110.38 and a 200 day moving average of $119.73. The company has a market cap of $251.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.60 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

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.