Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,490,702 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,206 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $118,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Shilanski & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $215,000. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 540,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,498,000 after acquiring an additional 13,211 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% in the first quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 8,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eads & Heald Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.1% in the first quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 3,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $88.12 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $105.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $220.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $84.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.