Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,960 shares of the company’s stock after selling 735 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Patron Partners LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 247,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,636,000 after acquiring an additional 22,578 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $48,921,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $104.98 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $265.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.80 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $112.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group decreased 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.46.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.