Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Sells 1,930 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,839 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,930 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.2% of Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 32,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $99.56. The stock had a trading volume of 3,295,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,834,670. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.73. The stock has a market cap of $251.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.60 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.