Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ Sells 1,098 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,480 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,098 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.2% of Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after buying an additional 5,865,948 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,450,000 after buying an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after buying an additional 2,473,346 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $103.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,625,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,795,396. 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 52 week low of $99.80 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $263.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $113.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.06) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lowered 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.50.

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.