Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Sells 2,171 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,171 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.8% of Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $101.33 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.60 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.37 and a 200-day moving average of $120.33. The company has a market capitalization of $256.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.