Heritage Investors Management Corp Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Heritage Investors Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 281,707 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,217 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.1% of Heritage Investors Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $31,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after buying an additional 5,088 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position 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 worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 73,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,762,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares during the last quarter. Hudock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 26,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 8,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.04 on Tuesday, reaching $100.83. 401,786 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,822,441. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.60 and a 1-year high of $134.63. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $112.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business 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 posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. 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 note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.93.

Get Our Latest Report on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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