First Interstate Bank Boosts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First Interstate Bank raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,114 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,760 shares during the quarter. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $101.88. 10,180,978 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,858,824. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.60 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $258.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $112.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Bank of America dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.93.

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.