Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Silver Oak Securities Incorporated

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,020 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,243 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $939,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $103.98 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.82. The company has a market cap of $263.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.80 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($2.06) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 EPS for the current 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.