Strategic Blueprint LLC Raises Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,933 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,840 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 32,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed 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 lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.46.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $104.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,075,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,749,793. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.80 and a 12 month high of $134.63. 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 has a market capitalization of $265.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $113.32 and a 200 day moving average of $121.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. 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.