Fort L.P. Sells 100 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fort L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,497 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Fort L.P.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Bank of America lowered 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. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $101.88. The stock had a trading volume of 10,180,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,562,252. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.60 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $112.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.84. The firm has a market cap of $258.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for 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 37.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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.