Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC

Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,387 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sendero Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% in the first quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the first quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 101,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,337,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Norwood Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% in the first quarter. Norwood Financial Corp now owns 4,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 726,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,968,000 after buying an additional 25,693 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $103.98 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G 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 posted 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

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.