Cullinan Associates Inc. Raises Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cullinan Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,268 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $104.97. 948,360 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,752,656. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.80 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $113.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 EPS 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.