Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Busey Bank

Busey Bank lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,402 shares of the company’s stock after selling 542 shares during the period. Busey Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $105.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $268.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $113.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.93. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.80 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.62.

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.