Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Bristlecone Advisors LLC

Bristlecone Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 22,310 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased 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 worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE MRK opened at $103.98 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.80 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $263.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $113.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.50.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.