Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Greystone Financial Group LLC

Greystone Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 34.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,012 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,334 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 64,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,508,000 after acquiring an additional 4,296 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $106,000. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% during the first quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 11,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $106.38 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $269.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.20, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.93. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.80 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on 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. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.62.

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.