First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services Acquires 1,265 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 48,640 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the period. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after buying an additional 5,088 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $40,893,000. Alliance Wealth Management Group lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 9,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. St. Louis Trust Co boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. St. Louis Trust Co now owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.6% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 38,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,092,000 after buying an additional 5,203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK remained flat at $101.88 during mid-day trading on Monday. 1,527,161 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,825,273. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $112.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.81. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.60 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.