New Millennium Group LLC Increases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

New Millennium Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2,420.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,166 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,723 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.8% of New Millennium Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. New Millennium Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Family Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 17,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $42,429,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 87,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,927,000 after buying an additional 2,056 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 67,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,698,000 after purchasing an additional 34,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wrapmanager Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.1% in the third quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 6,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,000 after buying an additional 1,086 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $96.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $108.46 and a 200-day moving average of $118.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $244.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 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.