2,576 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Bought by Plan Group Financial LLC

Plan Group Financial LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price 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, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $106.90 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $270.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.04. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.80 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.