Peterson Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 316 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 105.4% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 164,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,747,000 after acquiring an additional 84,597 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.0% in the first quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 26,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the first quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 127,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,870,000 after acquiring an additional 4,360 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America dropped 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 note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $96.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $108.84 and its 200-day moving average is $118.90. The company has a market cap of $243.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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.