Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Boosted by YHB Investment Advisors Inc.

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 32.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,696 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,564 shares during the quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. IRON Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the second quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $106.38 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.80 and a 52 week high of $134.63. 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 market capitalization of $269.44 billion, a PE ratio of 118.20, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($2.06) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of 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. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.62.

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.