Northcape Wealth Management LLC Has $2.79 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,544 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,238 shares during the quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% during the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 38,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,827 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Marin boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Marin now owns 6,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 145.6% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 248,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,208,000 after buying an additional 147,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 88,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,011,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.1 %

MRK stock opened at $96.30 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $108.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.97. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

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.