Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Chesapeake Wealth Management

Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,361 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Chesapeake Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New England Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the period. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 64.3% in the third quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 1,722 shares during the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.1% in the third quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital City Trust Co. FL increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 5,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $96.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $108.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.