Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Has $2.37 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,829 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,142 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marietta Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,435,000 after buying an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. GAM Holding AG lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% during the third quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 109,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,388,000 after acquiring an additional 7,689 shares during the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the third quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 28,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Dupree Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% in the third quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 4,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% during the third quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 141,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,096,000 after purchasing an additional 15,510 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MRK opened at $106.66 on Wednesday. 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 $99.80 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $270.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.51, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $114.01 and its 200-day moving average is $122.04.

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