Miramar Capital LLC Has $8.79 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Miramar Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,361 shares of the company’s stock after selling 932 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 2.1% of Miramar Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Miramar Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in 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 third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,874,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,372,000 after buying an additional 114,080 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 64,996 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted 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 acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 6,537,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,358,000 after acquiring an additional 43,578 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.1 %

MRK stock opened at $96.30 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $243.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.