Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Lifted by Community Financial Services Group LLC

Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,825 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,671 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.4% of Community Financial Services Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Community Financial Services Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627,923 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $724,776,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,782,000 after buying an additional 2,473,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 230.8% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,807,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,622,000 after buying an additional 1,959,152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of MRK opened at $106.34 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.80 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $114.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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.