Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Wealth Architects LLC

Wealth Architects LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Wealth Architects LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $1,358,000. Forte Capital LLC ADV raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 22,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,599,000 after buying an additional 4,540 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 536,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,170,000 after buying an additional 94,981 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 355.1% in the third quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 6,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 4,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Donald L. Hagan LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the third quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $998,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $100.72 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $255.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.60 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.