Comerica Bank Has $105.94 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Comerica Bank lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,064,968 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,949 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $105,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $84.70 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.93 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $213.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $86.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.13.

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.