Arvest Investments Inc. Purchases 1,367 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Arvest Investments Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 38,540 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares during the quarter. Arvest Investments Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.75 on Friday, reaching $102.92. The company had a trading volume of 9,208,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,553,251. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.60 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $260.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.