Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Sells 3,127 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,077 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,127 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.4% of Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after acquiring an additional 5,627,923 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:MRK traded down $2.05 on Friday, reaching $96.31. 16,464,508 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,910,528. The business has a fifty day moving average of $108.84 and a 200-day moving average of $118.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $243.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

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 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

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.