Leavell Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,390 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,835 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 5,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 204.0% during the 3rd quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 119,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,610,000 after purchasing an additional 80,428 shares during the last quarter. Triune Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 6,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burt Wealth Advisors increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% during the third quarter. Burt Wealth Advisors now owns 5,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE MRK opened at $102.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $98.60 and a one year high of $134.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $110.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.03.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America decreased 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. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut 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, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.