Easterly Investment Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 204.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 119,853 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 80,428 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.1% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.71 during trading on Friday, hitting $101.88. 1,672,048 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,821,390. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $111.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.60 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $258.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.