New England Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

New England Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,355 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the quarter. New England Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 64.3% in the 3rd quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722 shares during the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.1% during the third quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the third quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 5,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the third quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 9,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,107,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

MRK opened at $96.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $108.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.60. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $244.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 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.