JB Capital LLC Acquires 3,235 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

JB Capital LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,340 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,235 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.6% of JB Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. JB Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd 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 purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the 2nd 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 raised its position 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 worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $101.13. 805,292 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,818,050. 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 $256.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $111.37 and a 200 day moving average of $120.33.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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, November 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.