Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Has $197,000 Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 27.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,807 shares of the company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRK. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $130.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $127.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $331.24 billion, a PE ratio of 145.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.