Diversify Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,971 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,998 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,971 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 160,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 4,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 189.4% in the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,470,000 after purchasing an additional 17,210 shares during the last quarter. Penbrook Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.9% in the first quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 4,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buffington Mohr McNeal increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 82,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,924,000 after buying an additional 6,041 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $103.76 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.80 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.46.

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.