Donaldson Capital Management LLC Has $53.93 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 474,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,457 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 2.1% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $53,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after buying an additional 5,088 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $40,893,000. Alliance Wealth Management Group lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 9,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. St. Louis Trust Co grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. St. Louis Trust Co now owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,044,000 after buying an additional 1,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.6% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 38,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,092,000 after buying an additional 5,203 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group dropped 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, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $101.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.81. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $98.60 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.