Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,101 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second 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 bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying 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 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $101.88 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $112.29 and its 200-day moving average is $120.84. 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 stock has a market cap of $258.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.60 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. UBS Group cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.