Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Sells 3,199 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,389 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,199 shares during the quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,211,000 after buying an additional 8,985 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,921,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 59.8% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 485,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,056,000 after purchasing an additional 181,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Latko Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $3,296,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $98.54 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.50. The company has a market capitalization of $249.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.50 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten 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 an average target price 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.