Grassi Investment Management Invests $11.76 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Grassi Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 103,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,755,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.0% of Grassi Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 64,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,508,000 after buying an additional 4,296 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% during the first quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 11,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays dropped 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $106.70 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $270.25 billion, a PE ratio of 118.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $113.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.93. 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. has a 12 month low of $99.80 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share 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.