Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 399,033 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,134 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $45,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Guggenheim cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $98.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $109.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $248.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $97.90 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.