Vectors Research Management LLC Sells 385 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Vectors Research Management LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,958 shares of the company’s stock after selling 385 shares during the quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,088 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 7,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $48,921,000. Finally, Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 31,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,129,000 after purchasing an additional 3,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $98.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $97.90 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.