Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Focus Financial Network Inc.

Focus Financial Network Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,288 shares of the company’s stock after selling 344 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 52,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,939,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Penobscot Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the third quarter. Penobscot Wealth Management now owns 2,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 575,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,363,000 after purchasing an additional 21,658 shares in the last quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 254,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,945,000 after purchasing an additional 51,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $101.87 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $112.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.87. The firm has a market cap of $258.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.60 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.93.

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.