Bessemer Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,490,702 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,206 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $118,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $88.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $84.51 and a 200 day moving average of $81.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.11.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on 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 assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.