Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,472 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $96.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $243.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $108.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.90. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

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.