Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,328,564 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,442 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned 0.05% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $150,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 65,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,445,000 after purchasing an additional 3,195 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 22,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,526,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 136,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,969 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 42,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,839,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 668,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,858,000 after purchasing an additional 60,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE MRK traded down $1.90 during trading on Friday, reaching $103.98. 9,625,498 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,795,396. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.80 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $263.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $113.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group decreased their target price on 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. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.50.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.