Eastern Bank Acquires 340,168 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 149.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 567,710 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 340,168 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.2% of Eastern Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $64,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the second quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MRK traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,218,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,765,255. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.80 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $270.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $114.16 and a 200 day moving average of $122.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MRK shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America dropped their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

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.