Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC Sells 212 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

by · The Markets Daily

Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,208 shares of the company’s stock after selling 212 shares during the period. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $364,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the first 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 bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the third 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% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473,346 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $1.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $103.98. 9,625,498 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,795,396. The business’s 50 day moving average is $113.52 and its 200-day moving average is $121.63. The company has a market capitalization of $263.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.39. 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. has a 1-year low of $99.80 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($2.06) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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