Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Tevis Investment Management

Tevis Investment Management cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 59.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,608 shares during the period. Tevis Investment Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the second quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 162,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,875,000 after buying an additional 8,892 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.3% in the second quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 930,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,629,000 after purchasing an additional 137,300 shares during the last quarter. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% in the second quarter. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. now owns 3,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.1% in the second quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 8,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Facet Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.6% in the second quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. now owns 5,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.7%

MRK opened at $88.12 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month 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 50-day moving average price of $84.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.60. The company has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.