Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Raises Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,789 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 4.0% of Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the third quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 20,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.0% in the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 3,564 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares during the period. McAdam LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 17,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monte Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC now owns 48,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,454,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE MRK opened at $106.38 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.80 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization 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 fifty day moving average of $113.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($2.06) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of 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. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.