Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,039 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 32,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing 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 Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $102.66 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.60 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.47. The firm has a market cap of $260.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.93.

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.