Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Raises Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 474,065 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,301 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.8% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $51,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 160,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,142,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 4,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 189.4% during the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,470,000 after buying an additional 17,210 shares during the last quarter. Penbrook Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 4,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Buffington Mohr McNeal raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 82,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,924,000 after acquiring an additional 6,041 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $103.76. The stock had a trading volume of 4,142,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,766,239. The company’s 50 day moving average is $113.09 and its 200-day moving average is $121.28. The company has a market cap of $262.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.80 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.