Vectors Research Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Vectors Research Management LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,958 shares of the company’s stock after selling 385 shares during the period. Vectors Research Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,874,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,372,000 after acquiring an additional 114,080 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,693,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,402,000 after buying an additional 64,996 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 6,537,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,358,000 after buying an additional 43,578 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $248.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $97.90 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $109.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.