Montecito Bank & Trust Acquires 5,302 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Montecito Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 24.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 27,206 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,302 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $100.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $98.60 and a one year high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $111.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.33. The company has a market capitalization of $255.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.93.

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.