Argyle Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,648 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,075 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 2.4% of Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. IRON Financial LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $104.48. The company had a trading volume of 1,640,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,752,497. The company has a market capitalization of $264.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.44. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.46.

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.