Forum Financial Management LP Has $2.79 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,593 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Patron Partners LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 247,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,636,000 after buying an additional 22,578 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,211,000 after acquiring an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $48,921,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $101.88 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.60 and a 52-week high of $134.63. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $112.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price target on 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.93.

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.