Arvest Investments Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Arvest Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,540 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares during the quarter. Arvest Investments Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 115,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,164,000 after purchasing an additional 6,375 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 23,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,639,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.2% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 246,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,983,000 after acquiring an additional 57,106 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 112.3% during the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 5,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 2,741 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.0% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 12,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after buying an additional 2,380 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of MRK traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $102.92. 9,208,036 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,553,251. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $110.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $260.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.60 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America cut 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

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.