Penobscot Wealth Management Has $314,000 Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Penobscot Wealth Management lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,761 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Penobscot Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627,923 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of MRK opened at $102.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $112.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.04. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.60 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America cut 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. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI raised 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 report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.46.

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.