Diversify Wealth Management LLC Has $1.43 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,471 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,935 shares during the quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,874,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,372,000 after purchasing an additional 114,080 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,362,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,135,000 after buying an additional 56,644 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,693,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,402,000 after buying an additional 64,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,119,000 after buying an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.46.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.2 %

MRK stock opened at $104.98 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $265.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.80 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $112.87 and a 200-day moving average of $121.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm’s quarterly 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.