Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC Sells 21,470 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 198,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,470 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.2% of Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $28,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Round Rock Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the second quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Code Waechter LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the third quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.2% during the third quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the second quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard Deluca sold 12,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.76, for a total value of $1,691,403.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 121,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,057,064.16. This represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,073,631.14. This trade represents a 63.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 114,851 shares of company stock worth $15,300,182. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $146.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $146.39 and its 200-day moving average is $127.63. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.24 and a 12-month high of $156.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $362.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 151.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.68 and a beta of 0.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The business had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine.

Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.