Focus Financial Network Inc. Lowers Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Focus Financial Network Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,288 shares of the company’s stock after selling 344 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MRK. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $101.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.39. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $112.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.