Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 7,904 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,005 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,904 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $100.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $255.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.60 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reduced their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.