Boston Financial Mangement LLC Sells 4,302 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,302 shares during the quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $104.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $113.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.80 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of 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. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.46.

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.