Home Federal Bank of Tennessee Increases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

by · The Markets Daily

Home Federal Bank of Tennessee lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,013 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.6% of Home Federal Bank of Tennessee’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,847,000 after acquiring an additional 5,865,948 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $724,776,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 230.8% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,807,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,152 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MRK traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.40. 1,643,785 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,747,730. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $114.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.80 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $269.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis 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.

See Also