Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. Purchases 1,053 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,985 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.5% of Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $101.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $111.37 and its 200 day moving average is $120.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.60 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.80.

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.