Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Purchases 4,495 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 74.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,564 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,495 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $106.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,897,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,762,031. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.80 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.51, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($2.06) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

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.