Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Position Lifted by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,944 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,521 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.0% in the third quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 36,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,256,000 after buying an additional 11,559 shares during the period. NBH Bank lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. NBH Bank now owns 10,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,547,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Granville Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Granville Capital Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 44,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,466,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $147.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.90 and a 1 year high of $156.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $146.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.21. The stock has a market cap of $363.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 151.83, a PEG ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 0.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The business had revenue of $18.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. DZ Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $153.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. HSBC lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.74.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine. Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co. became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.