Highline Wealth Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 10,379 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,179,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GSB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,748,000 after acquiring an additional 5,333 shares in the last quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 40,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,552,000 after purchasing an additional 4,603 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 22,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,526,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV now owns 34,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,864,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.1% during the third quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 63,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,228,000 after buying an additional 10,210 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.46.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $103.45 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $113.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.80 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.