Costello Asset Management INC Acquires 2,947 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Costello Asset Management INC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 37,272 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,947 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 2.8% of Costello Asset Management INC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Costello Asset Management INC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Privium Fund Management B.V. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.2% during the 3rd quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 60,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,826,000 after acquiring an additional 16,314 shares during the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.4% in the third quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.7% in the third quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 33,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,690 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the third quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 18,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 25,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued 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 a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7 %

MRK stock opened at $102.92 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.03. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.60 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect 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.