Evermay Wealth Management LLC Has $2.07 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Evermay Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,103 shares of the company’s stock after selling 433 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $103.46. 2,776,324 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,758,753. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $113.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.80 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $262.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.46.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.