Team Hewins LLC Increases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Team Hewins LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,094 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.4% of Team Hewins LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Team Hewins LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK remained flat at $131.10 during trading hours on Thursday. The stock had a trading volume of 6,830,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,997,219. The company has a market cap of $332.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.69, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $127.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

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.