Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 6,460 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Boston Trust Walden Corp decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 635,524 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,460 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $72,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.8 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.90 on Friday, hitting $103.98. 9,625,498 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,795,396. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.66. The firm has a market cap of $263.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.80 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

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.