Covestor Ltd Sells 333 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Covestor Ltd reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,205 shares of the company’s stock after selling 333 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% in the second quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 607,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,091,000 after purchasing an additional 58,000 shares in the last quarter. OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,623,000. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 1,688,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,796,000 after buying an additional 26,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.59% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.0 %

MRK stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $102.70. 3,427,810 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,450,026. The stock has a market cap of $260.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.36 and a 1 year high of $119.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $103.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.11.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.30 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 18.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total transaction of $4,602,729.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 111,764 shares in the company, valued at $11,738,572.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 2,081 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.38, for a total transaction of $213,052.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,191 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,394.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total transaction of $4,602,729.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 111,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,738,572.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $122.00 in a report on Friday, October 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, November 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.14.

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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.