XML Financial LLC Has $7.11 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

XML Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,574 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,290 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GSG Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.7% in the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 33,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,690 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 18,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the third quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 25,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares during the period. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 110.2% during the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 49,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,596,000 after buying an additional 25,836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $102.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $110.74 and its 200-day moving average is $120.03. 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 company has a market capitalization of $260.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

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.