Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH Grows Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,360 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,433 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.9% of Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grassi Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $11,755,000. Greystone Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.4% during the third quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 13,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 3,334 shares in the last quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares in the last quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the third quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 26,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,038,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $797,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $106.70 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.80 and a 12-month 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $113.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. 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 previous year, the firm posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.62.

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.