Verus Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Verus Capital Partners LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,198 shares of the company’s stock after selling 360 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $100.76 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $254.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.60 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.38 and a 200-day moving average of $119.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock 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. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.