Ballast Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ballast Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,351 shares of the company’s stock after selling 386 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $102.19. 212,298 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,811,881. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.60 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $111.71 and a 200 day moving average of $120.47. The company has a market cap of $258.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. 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. 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.