Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 906,048 shares of the company’s stock after selling 281,509 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.6% of ING Groep NV’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $102,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. IRON Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the second quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE MRK traded up $0.24 during trading on Thursday, reaching $98.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,553,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,848,680. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $109.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $97.90 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

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.