Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Prudent Man Advisors LLC

Prudent Man Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 23.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,247 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,653 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.6% of Prudent Man Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Prudent Man Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $96.31 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $243.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. 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 fifty day moving average price of $108.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.83.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.