Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Sells 10,077 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,077 shares during the quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE MRK opened at $101.87 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.60 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business’s 50-day moving average is $112.29 and its 200 day moving average is $120.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.93.

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.