GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. Sells 308,380 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

by · The Cerbat Gem

GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 92.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 308,380 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.1% of GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the second quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $106.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $269.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.80 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $113.86 and its 200 day moving average is $121.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.06) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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