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

Dearborn Partners LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 284,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,570 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $32,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the 3rd 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, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.31 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $97.90 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $109.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Bank of America decreased 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. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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, October 25th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.86.

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.