Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Trims Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 48,737 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,428 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.4% of Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $126.88. 3,931,989 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,252,185. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $126.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $321.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 906.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current year.

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.