First Nebraska Trust Co Makes New $14.85 Million Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 102,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,851,000. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.2% of First Nebraska Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. IPG Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super now owns 48,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,018,000 after buying an additional 6,400 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.5% in the third quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 6,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.6% in the third quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 49,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,235,000 after buying an additional 8,503 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total transaction of $1,965,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,303. The trade was a 24.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,685 shares of company stock valued at $20,764,839. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $144.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $146.70 and a 200-day moving average of $127.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.01 and a 12-month high of $156.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $356.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 148.97, a PEG ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $18.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck began a Phase 3 trial of Ohtuvayre (ensifentrine) to assess whether it can prevent COPD exacerbations in higher-risk adults. A successful study could support the drug’s growth potential and broaden Merck’s pipeline. Merck initiates Phase 3 Ohtuvayre study
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. FDA granted emergency-use authorization for a Merck treatment against screwworm in dogs, providing a near-term product opportunity. Reuters report on FDA authorization
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck’s pipeline is being viewed as a potential future growth driver, and its CEO has targeted $70 billion in revenue in the mid-2030s. However, the outlook depends on development and launch execution. Article on Merck’s pipeline and growth outlook
• Negative Sentiment: DZ Bank downgraded MRK from Buy to Hold, despite setting a $153 price target. The move adds to caution around the stock; commentary also points to the looming patent cliff as a key longer-term risk. DZ Bank rating change

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $179.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and animal-health products. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck’s principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.