First Bank & Trust Boosts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,995 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the second quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:MRK traded down $1.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $103.98. 9,625,498 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,795,396. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $263.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.80 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($2.06) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.