AMG National Trust Bank Has $4.22 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

AMG National Trust Bank trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,116 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,505 shares during the quarter. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $695,000. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the third quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 33,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,778,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after acquiring an additional 4,954 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,517,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,739,000 after purchasing an additional 19,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, S&CO Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 403,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,800,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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 began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $96.31 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $108.84 and a 200 day moving average of $118.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $243.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly 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 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.