Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. Has $3.03 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,671 shares of the company’s stock after selling 799 shares during the quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after buying an additional 5,088 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 122.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 186,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,635,000 after purchasing an additional 102,841 shares in the last quarter. Hyman Charles D increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the first quarter. Hyman Charles D now owns 187,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Finally, NTV Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the first quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 27,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,625,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $102.92 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.60 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $260.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.80.

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.