Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,395 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. IRON Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the second quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $96.31 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.83. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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 Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.