Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,472 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the first 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 lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,874,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,372,000 after buying an additional 114,080 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew 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 during the period. Swedbank AB grew 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 during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $96.31 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $108.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.90. 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 stock has a market cap of $243.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.