Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton Purchases 161 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,590 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given 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.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.46.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $3.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $101.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,599,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,805,328. The company has a market cap of $257.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39. 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 1-year low of $98.60 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $112.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.