Heritage Wealth Management Inc. Sells 100 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Heritage Wealth Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,377 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.0% of Heritage Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Heritage Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627,923 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,874,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,372,000 after acquiring an additional 114,080 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,693,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,402,000 after acquiring an additional 64,996 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,782,000 after purchasing an additional 518,270 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.0 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $101.22. The stock had a trading volume of 92,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,814,111. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $111.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.60 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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.