Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 23,241 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,211,000 after acquiring an additional 8,985 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $48,921,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 59.8% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 485,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,056,000 after purchasing an additional 181,520 shares during the period. Finally, Latko Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $3,296,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $102.92. 9,208,036 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,553,251. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $110.74 and a 200 day moving average of $120.03. The firm has a market cap of $260.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.60 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Bank of America cut 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 research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

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.